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| Business |
| Govt seeks partners in gold mining |
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by
Denis Mzembe, 18 June 2003
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17:45:54
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The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs has said it expects much larger gold deposits along the Lisungwi River and would be looking for either partners or donors to help in developing a larger mining operation.
In an interview on Monday, deputy minister Martha Nasho said while gold panning has since started, about 10 people from the area surrounding Phalula in Balaka are being trained by consultant Stuart Brand on how to pan gold. The 10 would train others in panning the mineral.
She also said Brand is expected to play a key role in identifying possible investors or donors to set up the mining operation.
Nasho said gold was being mined in the area way back in 1938 by European settlers but “for whatever reasons the one party regime discouraged any mining”.
In another interview, an official in the Department of Mines said the gold would be sold to the Reserve Bank of Malawi in accordance with the country’s laws.
He added that the gold, “discovered in 1910”, is spread along the Lisungwi River mainly near Manondo in Phalula.
He said some of the gold is at the confluence of Lisungwi and Lipangwi river.
“We do not know how large the deposits are currently but we are working towards establishing the true quantities of the mineral,” he said.
He said gold occurrences have also been discovered around the Dwangwa River between Nkhotakota and Nkhata Bay districts and the Makanjira area across Lake Malawi in Mangochi district.
Recently, the existence of various types of minerals have been reported in Malawi but the country has not taken any decisive step to seriously invest in mining operations.
One of the precious minerals reported to be available in abundance includes bauxite on Mulanje mountain but efforts to start a mining operation have been marred by environmental concerns.
,The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs has said it expects much larger gold deposits along the Lisungwi River and would be looking for either partners or donors to help in developing a larger mining operation.
In an interview on Monday, deputy minister Martha Nasho said while gold panning has since started, about 10 people from the area surrounding Phalula in Balaka are being trained by consultant Stuart Brand on how to pan gold. The 10 would train others in panning the mineral.
She also said Brand is expected to play a key role in identifying possible investors or donors to set up the mining operation.
Nasho said gold was being mined in the area way back in 1938 by European settlers but “for whatever reasons the one party regime discouraged any mining”.
In another interview, an official in the Department of Mines said the gold would be sold to the Reserve Bank of Malawi in accordance with the country’s laws.
He added that the gold, “discovered in 1910”, is spread along the Lisungwi River mainly near Manondo in Phalula.
He said some of the gold is at the confluence of Lisungwi and Lipangwi river.
“We do not know how large the deposits are currently but we are working towards establishing the true quantities of the mineral,” he said.
He said gold occurrences have also been discovered around the Dwangwa River between Nkhotakota and Nkhata Bay districts and the Makanjira area across Lake Malawi in Mangochi district.
Recently, the existence of various types of minerals have been reported in Malawi but the country has not taken any decisive step to seriously invest in mining operations.
One of the precious minerals reported to be available in abundance includes bauxite on Mulanje mountain but efforts to start a mining operation have been marred by environmental concerns.
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