Malawi Government may have a 15 percent stake in Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga, but the country stands to earn at least 50 percent of total revenue generated, it has emerged.
Lotus Resources Limited managing director Greg Bittar, whose company has a majority stake in the mine, said this on Wednesday when Minister of Mining Ken Zikhale Ng’oma and Presidential Delivery Unity (PDU) head Janet Banda visited the mine to appreciate progress of the work.
Bittar was responding to Ng’oma who urged the company to expand its corporate social responsibility beyond the community surrounding the mine to other sectors and areas nationwide.
He said: “My promotion and discussion with Australian investors is that the government of Malawi has more than half in this partnership through direct interests, royalties, corporate tax and indirect payments.
“So, it’s not just the 15 percent in the project. It’s well past 50 percent. From an economic perspective, you are the majority partner. We are here at your privilege and approval.”
Besides the 15 percent stake, Lotus will be paying Malawi 30 percent in corporate tax, a royalty of five percent of the gross revenue at minegate, resource rent tax and other indirect taxes through employment as per the mine development agreement (MDA).
The company, according to Bittar, plans to recruit about 600 people, 90 percent of them Malawians.
Lotus has also signed a community development agreement (CDA) where, as per Section 164 of the Mines and Minerals Act (MMA 2023), it will be providing 0.45 percent of its annual gross sales to the community.
It was also learnt during the meeting that some containers carrying technical equipment and vehicles imported by the company are being held, a development which may affect some works of the company.
Paramount Chief Kyungu urged government to help the company bring in its equipment so that production re-starts in the third quarter of 2025 (between July and September) as earlier planned.
Commenting on the update, Ng’oma could not hide his surprise that Kayelekera was such a big venture from which Malawi could have been making money from.
He said: “I am happy because Lotus is ahead of time, and about to roll out soon. This is a good sign that Malawi is taking mining seriously because three other companies are coming to start production.
“From September to December we should be having some earnings from mining which will be a paradigm shift for Malawi’s economy. On the containers and vehicles, I will engage the Malawi Revenue Authority to release the consigments as soon as possible.”
Earlier, geologist Grain Malunga, who is also former minister of Energy, described the deal as win-win, saying the government will collect over 50 percent of the revenue which is the best it could get from a mining deal.
Mining expert and former government geologist Ignatius Kamwanje described the Lotus MDA as fair compared with other mining deals signed in the past, especially that with Paladin Energy Limited.
