Mining & Trade News

By Modester Mwalija

Local quarry miner Chawezi Resources has rehabilitated a 9km access road to its quarry mine in Nathenje in Lilongwe, which is serving the local community besides making it easy for its customers to reach the mining site.

Chawezi has contracted local construction firm Plem Construction to carry out the road construction works, which are part of its major infrastructure upgrade at the quarry mine.

Chawezi Quarry Manager Leckson Chigoneka told Mining & Trade Review in an interview at the site that the Company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is evident in its ongoing efforts to improve the lives of those living near its operations.

“As part of our CSR programme, we have executed several projects including providing access to clean water, which was a critical need in the area and improving road accessibility to help people travel more easily from the village to town”, Chigoneka said.

The miner supplies tap water sourced from underground to households close to the site.

In addition to these efforts, Chawezi Quarry has been involved in environmental conservation through tree-planting initiatives.

 “We are committed to operate in tandem with environmental laws and regulations. Planting trees is one of the ways through which we are contributing to the sustainability of the environment around us,” Chigoneka said.

Meanwhile, Chawezi Resources is working on installing an asphalt plant at the mining site, a project which will be completed in three months time. Chigoneka described the development as a major milestone to the nation as it will play a major role in the completion of road projects in the country.

He said: “The new asphalt plant marks a significant step forward for Chawezi Quarry. It is a project that is not just big in scale, but also in terms of the benefits it will bring.”

“We expect it to take more than a year to be completed but the long-term gains for both the company and Malawi’s infrastructure development will be substantial.”

Chigoneka also said that the plant, to be installed in only three months time, will produce asphalt specifically for road construction, ensuring that Malawi’s infrastructure projects have a steady supply of high-quality materials. This in turn is expected to drive further growth in the construction sector.

“Our goal is to support the country’s development by providing the materials needed for building and maintaining roads. This project will allow us to do that on a much larger scale,” he said.

Chigoneka also said that besides the economic advantages, the new project is set to have a significant positive impact on the local community.

“We have already employed more than 40 people from the surrounding villages, and this number is expected to rise as the project progresses as the additional revenue generated by the asphalt plant will enable us to continue and expand our support to the community,” he said.

Chawezi Quarry Mine produces about 35,000 tons of quarry and quarry dust per month.

The Mine owned by Chawezi Resources, which is a subsidiary of Akatwiri Holdings, is located on a tenement area of about one square kilometre.

Besides the Nathenje project, the Akatswiri Holdings Group owns another quarry mine in Nsanje and has plans to set up quarry mines close to cities of Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba.

The Akatswiri diversified resources group has mineral tenements across Malawi and also offers consultancy services in mining engineering, geology and construction.

Leave a Comment

Comments