Mining
First phase drilling for Chambe Basin Rare Earths Exploration Project completed
February 15, 2024 / Marcel Chimwala
Local firm Akatswiri Mineral Resources says it has completed Phase 1 drilling programme for the Chambe Basin Rare Earths Exploration Project in Mulanje Mountain, Southern Malawi.
Akatswiri Chairman Hilton Banda says in an interview that the Company is now waiting for the drilling results as the samples extracted from the site are being processed at a laboratory in Perth, Australia.
Banda explains that he is confident of coming up with exciting results because rare earth mineralisation is visible in all the samples.
He says: “Chambe is a unique rare earths deposit as it is an ionic clay deposit. These deposits generally have several advantages over hard rock deposits, including lower operating and capital costs and shorter timelines for development.”
“Chambe is one of the few large ionic clay-hosted rare earth elements (REE) deposits outside of China, where currently a significant portion of global REE production is sourced.”
The Chambe basin has a central part that has recessively weathered soils that are up to about 15 m thick containing REE’s of the ionic adsorption.
Banda says such REEs in ion-adsorption deposits can be extracted by simple leaching of common chemicals in contrast to other types of REE deposits, which require complex and expensive processing.
“Rare earth recovery will be by simple mining and processing methods as the thick intercepts near surface means simple low -cost conventional and free -dig open pit mining,” he says.
Since Mulanje Mountain is one of the leading tourist destinations in Malawi, he explains that Akatswiri is pursuing a Sustainable Mining and Tourism approach where by adopting open -pit mining with responsible rehabilitation practices will be essential to conserve the environment while extracting REEs.
“The mining project will prioritise the protection of waterways (tributaries) by strategic geotechnical drainage system and an aerial way to transport the ore from the plateau which is the most reliable way to reduce vibration of ground mode of transport, and also a source of mine tourism attraction,” he says.
Akatswiri has been engaging members of the local community in the area including at District Council level to provide them an opportunity to express their views regarding the project, discuss the environmental and social impacts of the project, and derive mitigation measures of the adverse negative impacts of the project.
The Company organised a tree planting exercise in liaison with members of the community as part of its environmental conservation programme for the area. The Akatswiri management team comprises top notch business executives and professionals including Mr Banda, Mrs Josephine Banda as Executive Managing Director, Mr Ashutosh Srivastava as Board Technical Advisor, Mr. Jason L Greive as Non-Executive Director, Mr. Bilal Mahomed Non-Executive Director, Mr Nathaniel Ferrero Non-Executive Director, Mr Kalekeni Kaphale Company Lawyer, Dr. Joshua Chisambi Chief Geologist, Mr Gavin Beer Consulting Metallurgist, Johnstone Livata Director of Finance and Maston Gondwe Accountant.
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Rehabilitation:
The establishment of a stable and self-sustaining ecosystem, but not necessarily the one that existed before mining began. In many cases, complete restoration may be impossible, but successful remediation, reclamation, and rehabilitation can result in the timely establishment of a functional ecosystem.
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Remediation:
The cleanup of the contaminated area to safe levels by removing or isolating contaminants. At mine sites, remediation often consists of isolating contaminated material in pre-existing tailings storage facilities, capping tailings and waste rock stockpiles with clean topsoil, and collecting and treating any contaminated mine water if necessary.
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