Ministry of Trade and Industry says rutile and graphite projects are among the 23 identified bankable projects earmarked to be marketed at the ongoing Unite States (US)-Africa Business Summit in Luanda, Angola.
In an interview on Tuesday, the ministry’s spokesperson Patrick Botha said titanium and graphite project in Kasiya, Lilongwe, are in line with US strategic vision on critical minerals supply chain diversification.
“As a ministry we are quite serious about this. Malawi will also promote its infrastructure and mining projects, specifically the development of critical minerals,” he said.
Botha said side meetings have been arranged to discuss matters of mutual interest, particularly the new America First Trade Policy, including issues such as sweeping US tariffs, the recently launched Commercial Diplomacy Strategy and matters concerning the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which is expected to expire in September this year.
When asked on the impact of such summits on the foreign direct investment considering the many investment foras the country has organised and attended, Botha said there is need for close collaboration as the ministry’s role ends at trade facilitation and creating an enabling environment for doing business.
He said: “Remember the call remains on private sector players to cease these opportunities. The ministry only facilitates and ensures that there is an enabling environment and right policies to propel growth of industries and meaningful investments.”
“For example, in agri-based value chains, the production side lies with Ministry of Agriculture while the value-addition or manufacturing side, issues of market facilitation get to be our mandate.”
In an interview on Tuesday, geologist Grain Malunga said government needs to create a conducive environment for the mining sector as investments are capital-intensive.
He said: “There is an enormous potential which the sector can provide in terms of revenue generation and infrastructure development. All this depends on how government and citizens motivate investors to invest in these ventures.
“Investment incentives are necessary because mining is capital intensive and money is borrowed on the open capital market and stock exchanges. Investors who put in money in such businesses expect high returns on their investments.”
Malawi Investment and Trade Centre director general Kruger Phiri described Malawi’s participation at this year’s event as strategic, especially its focus on the mining sector.
“Malawi’s participation in the summit is strategic, aiming to position the country as an attractive destination for investment in key sectors such as mining, Tourism and agriculture,” he said.
The Kasiya Rutile and Graphite Project is touted to have the largest rutile and other deposits such as titanium and graphite in the world with 1.8 billion tonnes of indicated and inferred resource at 1.01 percent.
