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| Mining products earn Malawi K421 million |
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by
Aubrey Mchulu, 31 January 2005
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08:31:23
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Mining products contributed K421 million to the country’s economy in the year 2003/04, Geological Surveys Department director Leonard Kalindekafe said on Tuesday.
Kalindekafe said in an interview this was an increase and indicated good tidings for the future.
“K421 million into the economy is a very significant contribution to the economy,” he said.
He said money spent on salaries and wages by the private sector in the mining field totalled about K90 million during the period under review.
Kalindekafe said the earnings were an indication of increased business in the mining sector.
However, compared to 2002/2003’s mining revenue of K1.1 billion which was itself a drop from the previous year’s K1.9 billion, last year’s earnings reflected another drop.
Government officials said in 2003 that the declining value of mining resources were due to the closure of Changalume cement mine and also slight depression of commodity prices for mineral exports on the world market.
Mining is one of the sectors earmarked to heal the country’s sick economy and experts have argued that it has the potential to effectively contribute as a priority sector if the search for high-value minerals is intensified.
Kalindekafe is on record to have said that geophysical data and Malawi’s mining history indicate that the country is host to diamond, gold, nickel, platinum, base metal and hydrocarbons but lacks partners to explore the probable wealth.
However, last Friday the government of Japan donated geological equipment to Malawi worth US$1.3 million which local authorities said will help boost the mining sector.
The equipment comprises a drilling machine and Atomic Absorption Spectrometer.
Authorities said information gathered using the new equipment will help local experts understand Malawi’s mineral resource endowment, especially industrial minerals, building stones, sand and gravel, metallic and fertilizer minerals.
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