Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo says the government is committed to ensuring that every mining investor adheres to the mining laws and regulations in Malawi.
He said this in Parliament when responding to a recent report by the Natural Resources Committee of Parliament, which raised concerns of environmental stewardship, licence category and export of samples for testing.
However, Tembo clarified that inspections undertaken by government have not established evidence of unauthorised commercial mining of rare earth mineral resources.
He said material exported to date have been authorised by the meteorological testing under applicable approvals.
He said government appreciates the committee’s advice for continued monitoring, and that the Ministry and Malawi Mining Authority will continue conducting inspections to ensure Kangankude mining complies with the law.
On issues of environmental compliance, the Minister said the ministry will continue working with the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority to ensure that all environmental approvals required under the law are obtained before any activities outside approved project areas are undertaken to ensure good environmental stewardship.
On the question of the geological lab and Malawi’s analytical capacity, Tembo said the government agrees that strengthening Malawi’s geological laboratory infrastructure is essential for improving mineral governance and reducing dependence on external or foreign labs.
He said the government will mobilise resources for the establishment of lab facilities not only for rare earth but for other minerals.
Tembo made the remarks in Parliament when he responded to concerns raised in a report recently by the Natural Resources Committee.
He warned Kangankude rare earth mineral to comply with license conditions, warning that no investor is above the law.
Government is committed to ensuring that the Nkangankude rare earth mining contributes to national economic development.
The Kangankude rare earth project is one of Malawi’s strategic mining projects, because rare earth minerals are used in the manufacturing of electric vehicles and military equipment.
By Isaac Jali
