Uranium mining to boost Malawi exports by 25 percent

I am compelled to share the following article with you, esteemed readers of this blog, as a follow-up to one of my previous blog posts on Uranium Mining in Malawi

Source: Mail & Guardian Online - Johannesburg, South Africa (11th January, 2008)

A uranium mining project by an Australian firm due to begin in northern Malawi next year will boost the country's exports by 25%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In a new country report released this week, the IMF said the $185-million project by mining firm Paladin could add up to 10% of the Southern African country's overall GDP and 25% to exports.

However, the report said the impact in export earnings was likely to peak after an four-year surge before production slowly tailed off.

"The mine will add overall economic growth during the first four years but will then detract from overall growth as production is expected to wind down at the end of the mine's life" in 2020, the IMF said.

Paladin Africa, which last year received a licence to mine uranium at Kayelekera, 40km west of Karonga town, says the mine will earn Malawi $200-million in export income per annum.

The mining project, hailed as Malawi's biggest investment ever, had been due to begin later this year but the timetable has slipped amid challenges by environmental groups over its impact. -- Sapa-AFP

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Nickel mining in Malawi?

For a long time, as Malawians, we were made to believe that our country does not have any mineral resources. This was particularly true during the 30 year one-party rule of the first President of Malawi, the late Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda. As for me, and I also hope with many others, we just kept wondering that our neighbours Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique all had and still have very active mining industries yet we did not have any except coal mining at Mchenga (Livingstonia Escarpments) mines. Many were puzzled that how could be the case since Malawi also lies in an area with a similar geological makeup as these neighbouring countries.

But since the year 2000 we have been hearing of successful prospecting of minerals such as uranium. And now we are hearing of Nickel. This is good news as mining will help broaden the base of our agriculture-dominated economy. By the way, among other things, nickel is used to form very important alloys such as stainless steel.

Here is an excerpt of an article about nickel mining in Malawi:

Exploration undertaken by UK-listed company Lisungwe plc in southern Malawi has established the existence of large nickel deposits at Chimimbe and Chimwadzulu.

Chairperson John Watkins says that the exploration work undertaken by the company, which includes a pitting programme, has confirmed that the two deposits contain several million tons of nickel ore – grading at better than 0,5% nickel – which is amenable to sulphuric acid leach extraction for the production of a nickel hydroxide product.

Read more of this article at miningweekly.co.za

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Uranium mining in Malawi?

Am very excited today with the news that in my home country, Malawi, some civil society groups have withdrawn legal proceedings against an Australian uranium mining company, Paladin, and the Government of Malawi. The civil society groups were protesting on the way the mining concession was awarded to Paladin. They were alleging, among other issues, that there were no proper consultations regarding environment risks associated with uranium mining.

I was not very surprised to learn that the civil society groups had dragged the government of Malawi and Paladin to court. This is because it seems that it has become a tradition that some civil society groups would like to make "noise" on anything just to show the public that they are "functional" and "working" so that they continue getting donor funds. Hahaha...

Again, it is not a surprise that they have withdrawn their legal challenge. After all, they did not have any justifiable basis for their action. I strongly believe that Paladin has vast experience in uranium mining and as such they already have precautionary safety measures in place for their mining operations. After all, they are also mining uranium in other African countries like Namibia.

With developed countries (including Iran?) looking to alternative sources of energy, uranium is proving to be a big "hit". Malawi therefore stands to boost its GDP through this mining alternative. Malawi has the natural resources and these God given resources need to be exploited for the benefit of Malawians. Much as we appreciate that we have an agricultural-based economy, we need to pursue other viable alternatives so that maybe we may graduate from the class of "least developed countries" on planet Earth. Why should we be poor when God has given us the resources?

By the way, it has also been reported in the papers recently that they have also discovered uranium deposits in Kasungu District and gold deposits in Ntcheu District in Malawi.

Mulungu dalitsani Malawi! (God bless Malawi)

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