Malawi expects a significant mineral boom
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Malawi expects a significant mineral boom
Malawi could generate more than USD30-billion from mineral exports in the next 15 years.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and Endorphin Expeditions and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine.
One of my most memorable interviews ever was when I met Malawi’s Minister of Mining, Monica Chang’anamuno, on a hot and humid morning in her office in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, in 2023 during the 2023 WhyAfrica Road Trip.
It was the most transparent and honest discussion that I’ve ever had with a government official in Africa and Minister Chang’anamuno passionately explained how she would implement the country’s new mining strategy.
She had an unshakable belief in the mining industry and that the vision was on course to deliver results.
The next year WhyAfrica was invited to visit all the projects the Minister told us about the previous year. At that stage they were all in development phase gearing up for production.
We couldn’t say no – Malawi is a fantastic country to visit and this time we would drive across the country from South to North to understand the dynamics better.
Projects in the pipeline
Australian listed Lotus Resources told WhyAfrica during our mine visit last year that production at the Kayelekera Uranium Project in the north of the country will get underway in the third quarter of this year (WhyAfrica visited the Kayelekera project last year as part of the 2024 WhyAfrica Road Trip).
Sovereign Metals, in partnership with Rio Tinto is developing the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project. Kasiya hosts what Sovereign says is the world’s largest known rutile resource and the second-largest flake graphite reserve (WhyAfrica visited the Kasiya project last year as part of the 2024 WhyAfrica Road Trip) while Lindian Resources is looking for investors at its Kangankunde Rare Earths Project in the south of Malawi.
Visiting parliament in 2023
In picture is Minister Chang’anamuno in her office during the interview with a copy of the WhyAfrica Road Trip Preview magazine next to her. Printed copies of the WhyAfrica magazine travels with us and we personally hand them over to the people that we interview on the ground.
During the 2024 WhyAfrica Road Trip we interviewed more than 40 important stakeholders and visited more than 30 project sites in 45 days, driving 9000km overland. We handed out about 250 magazines in SA, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. This year we aim to do the same. The 2025 road trip will start in August and will be the 4th WhyAfrica Road Trip.
Bookings for partners, sponsors, members and advertising space for the 2025 WhyAfrica Road Trip is now open, don’t miss out!
Malawi could generate more than USD30-billion from mineral exports in the next 15 years.
