Mining
Malawi yet to solicit funds to attend Investing in Africa Mining Indaba
January 19, 2024 / Wahard Betha
With just two weeks to go before the Investing in Africa annual mining indaba starts, Malawi’s Ministry of Mining is yet to solicit funds to attend the Indaba that takes place in Cape Town, South Africa.
This year’s indaba which will be held from February 5 to 8, 2024, aims to celebrate Mining Indaba’s 30th anniversary by taking a new direction and purpose under the theme of ‘Embracing the power of positive disruption: A bold new future for African mining.’
The indaba outlines the need for Africa’s mining industry to embrace a solution and a path towards positive change in order to become a meaningful global competitor as key minerals are required to drive a sustainable future for the planet.
For Malawi, the indaba serves as platform to market its mineral potential to potential mining investors around the global.
But in an interview, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry Tiwonge Kampondeni told Mining & Trade Review that the Ministry is still looking for funds to attend the event.
“We are expected to participate and at the moment we are looking for resources to enable us to attend the meeting this year,” said Kampondeni.
Last year, the Ministry failed to have a pavilion at the indaba similarly due to lack of financial resources.
Commenting on the development, National Coordinator for Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJN) Kennedy Rashid blamed the Ministry of Finance for not being serious in funding some of the priority sectors highlighted in Malawi 2063 economic agenda such as mining.
Rashid said the country has huge mineral potential that requires marketing and that the mining indaba is a huge opportunity to woe investors into the country.
He said: “The challenge we have is that the Ministry of Finance has not been serious in financing the priority sectors that are expected to generate revenue and transform the economy.”
“Our Ministry of Finance, to be honest, has never stepped up to support the sector as other countries in the region have been doing.”
“The expectation that the private sector is going to develop the country is good but also the regulation and development of the sector require investment.”
“Attending international conferences like the mining indaba to at least market the country is what we need for companies out there to know what we have.”
Rashid said the Ministry is supposed to have a pavilion with all the Information, Education and Communication Materials (IEC Materials) on Malawi’s minerals sector.
He said: “We need to be serious with the sector and the Ministry of Mining should not be lacking resources to attend important events.”
“The lack of resources in the Ministry only shows that our government is not serious about mining,” said Rashid.
Apart from solid mineral potential, Malawi has petroleum and gas blocks that are vacant up to date that require to be marketed to investors.
Despite the absence of a government pavilion at the Indaba, multinational exploration companies working in Malawi such as Lindian Resources, Mkango Resources, Sovereign Metals and Lotus Resources always attend the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba.
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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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