Mining & Trade News

The Consumers Association of Malawi (CAMA) says there is need for cooking oil producing companies to utilize locally produced crops as raw materials in order to reduce their cost of production which will translate to the reduction of the skyrocketing price for cooking oil.
The Association says in a Press Statement that it is shocked with continued importation of already refined cooking oil and cooking oil raw materials from other countries despite the country producing enough oil crops to supply the local companies.
In the statement, CAMA condemns what it describes as persistent blackmailing by the Edible Cooking Oil Producers in the country who are seeking unnecessary attention and sympathy from consumers and Government.
The statement explains that the Cooking Oil Refining Industry has for so long preferred to import crude oil from the Eastern countries such as Malaysia, India and others, at higher prices compared to local raw materials grown by local farmers.
CAMA states: “Malawian farmers produce a lot of soya, groundnuts and sunflower used in the production of edible cooking oil but throughout the years our farmers that grow these raw materials have failed to find markets for their produce because the local cooking oil companies opted to buy crude oil from their own countries of origin.”
“Throughout the past years, Malawi was producing its own cooking oil using its own raw materials, we all recall Uniliver or Lever Brothers used to produce COVO and Kazinga with linkages to our local farmers.”
“These were superior products produced locally and you may recall that the vernacular Chichewa word for cooking oil was ‘Mafuta a Mtedza’ meaning it is cooking oil produced from groundnuts. The full name acronym for COVO was Cooking Vegetable Oil-also from local agricultural raw materials.”
CAMA has also expressed shock that the Malawi Government is allowing an Association of Cooking Oil Producers to import all required raw materials from their countries of origin and sideline local farmers’ access to markets.
The Association also says it is worrisome to see the local cooking oil refiners demanding a number of tax incentives from the Government from a product that has no added value to Malawians especially consumers and farmers.
CAMA says it is currently lobbying with Malawi Government to empower local Malawians and link them with local farmers to start producing local cooking oil.
It says: “There is no magic science in the production of cooking oils that would require anybody coming from another planet, the cooking oil refiners are ransoming Government and consumers as if no one else apart from them can produce cooking oils in Malawi.”
“The importation of crude oil is abuse of scarce resources, we are appealing to the Ministries of Trade and Industry to stop giving import licenses to the cooking oil refiners for the importation of crude oil.”
Malawi has huge technical expertise supported by many graduates from local Technical Colleges and Universities that can be empowered with resources to go into production of cooking oil and create linkages with local farmers to start producing locally Malawian cooking oil.
Last year, Malawi Government announced re-introduction of 16.5% Value Added Tax (VAT) on some domestic products such as cooking oil which resulted in sharp rise in prices of the commodity.

Malawi Milk Producers Association (MMPA), which is a mother body for dairy farmers and manufacturers of dairy products in the country, says there is a serious need for local farmers to embrace dairy farming which has the potential to improve their economic status.
MMPA Director Herbert Chagona said in an interview that the local dairy industry is hugely affected by the decrease in the number of dairy farmers.
Chagona explained that there are only about 1000 large scale dairy farmers in the country, the number he said is inadequate to produce sufficient volumes of milk to meet demand for local dairy processors.
He said his association is currently sensitizing farmers to realize the importance of embracing the industry so that there is an increase in the number commercial dairy farmers to satisfy local demand for dairy products and save foreign exchange through import substitution.
Chagona said, among other interventions, the organization has been importing highly productive bulls which are distributed to cattle farmer associations for cross breeding in order to increase milk production.
He also said they have been importing dairy goats to provide supplementary milk.
Chagona also said scarcity of grazing land is contributing to farmers’ reluctance to keep dairy cattle.
He, therefore, said his association is conducting a continuous training programme for farmers to establish their own pasture lands.
“There are several factors contributing to farmers’ loss of interest to venture into dairy farming, the major reasons being lack of government’s interest to develop the sector and scarcity of grazing land in most parts of the country,” he said.
While complaining that Malawi has the lowest milk consumption rate in Africa, Chagona said, consumption rate can improve if there are more dairy farmers and cattle in the country.
He also urged Malawians to change their attitude towards milk consumption saying some perceive it as a luxury.
World Health Organization recommends that a person should take at 100 litres of milk per year. But according to Chagona the highest milk consumer in the country takes only eight litres of milk per year which he described as pathetic.
“We can also encourage farmers to keep dairy cattle through advising people to consume more dairy products. It is sad that only a few Malawians include milk in their meals,” he said.
He also expressed concern over unavailability of dairy products’ manufacturers in some regions of the country saying it unfortunate that Northern Region which has the highest number of cattle in the country does not have any dairy manufacturing company to provide a reliable milk market to farmers.
He, therefore, revealed that his association is currently negotiating with some companies to establish their branches in the region.
The Association has also urged dairy farmers in the country to sell their milk at Milk Bulking Groups (MBG) where they can be offered better prices for their products.
Edwin Chigundo, Marketing Manager for Lilongwe Dairy 2001 Limited concurred with Chagona saying there is great need to encourage farmers to take dairy farming seriously.
He explained that the organization’s production is usually limited due to milk supplies which are usually low and fluctuative.
“There have been complaints that prices of most of our products are high, but the cause for that is insufficient milk supplies. High prices on dairy products can be avoided if farmers are encouraged to embrace dairy farming which may consequently lead to increased production and then reduced commodity prices,” said Chigundo.

The Poultry Industry Association of Malawi (PIAM) has expressed concern over massive exportation of soya beans, which is a major ingredient in the production of chicken feed, saying it has resulted in soaring prices of the feed due to low supply.
The Malawi government is encouraging exportation of soya beans as a way of ensuring that local farmers who are usually duped by middlemen benefit from their sweat.
But PIAM said the decision is adversely affecting the poultry industry which relies on the bean as its main source of raw material for the production of most chicken feeds.
PIAM Technical Director Eric Chuma said continued export of the crop has led to the drop in the legume’s supply to local poultry feed manufacturers who have consequently hiked commodity prices, which is choking the poultry industry.
Currently the legume’s market price has jumped from about K500 to K800 per kilogram which Chuma said is a threat to the survival of the local industry.
“As an organization responsible for poultry farming in the country, we are concerned with government’s decision to export all the beans harvested in the just ended season. The exportation means the crop would be found in low supply locally, which would eventually affect local poultry production particularly by farmers who would be demanded to pay more for the feed,” said Chuma.
Chuma said the development would also affect poultry products consumption in Malawi, which is the lowest in Southern African Development (SADC) region.
“As much as it is a fact that soya export will affect poultry feed manufacturers, we are concerned that the development will lead to the reduction in consumption of poultry products whose prices are likely going to increase. For your information World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that one person should consume at least 8 kilograms of chicken meat a year, unfortunately, the highest consumer in Malawi eats less than that, which is the lowest in SADC,” said Chuma.
He also urged government to encourage farmers to start producing huge quantities of the crop so that the country can have sufficient quantities of the seed for local consumption and export.
Records have shown that, Malawi produces 200 thousand metric tons of soya beans a year which is against the demanded 500 thousand Metric tons.
Chuma said there are expectations that exportation of the legume might lead to the drop in number of poultry farmers as many will not afford buying feed at exorbitant prices.
He said such a situation may affect exportation of poultry products and domestic incomes of small-scale poultry farmers.
Operations Manager for leading poultry producer Central Poultry (CP) Michael Davis complained that soya exportation has affected operations of the company.
He said CP is already buying poultry feed at higher prices and such price increases may be effected on prices of their end products in so doing impacting on consumers.
“It is true that Soya beans which is one of the raw materials for manufacturing poultry feed is in low supply and expensive which is affecting our business, as prices of most chicken feeds have gone up,” he said.
Local animal production sector contributes 11 percent to Malawi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with poultry industry alone contributing about eight percent.
Meanwhile, the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) has called on government to put in place measures aimed at promoting poultry farming in the country saying the industry has potential to substantially contribute to the economy of the country.
FUM’s President Frighton Njolomole made the call in an interview with Agribusiness Review following an observation that raising of domesticated birds such as quails (zinziri) has become popular in the country.
“We cannot deny the fact that the poultry industry is now one of the fastest growing industries in the commercial farming fraternity looking at how popular raring of birds has become,” said Njolomole.
Njolomole urged authorities to respond to the growing interest of farmers at both local and urban level in the poultry business by putting in place interventions that will help them expand their business.
He said “The government needs to deploy extension officers to be inspecting the poultry farming sites to teach farmers best practices.”
“We would definitely love to have a lot of people from agricultural sector who are committed in what we, as farmers, are doing. We have young men and women who are working tirelessly in the industry.”
Njolomole also said the government needs to promote poultry farming so that Malawi becomes self-reliant on production of chicken products.
“The country has the capacity to produce many chickens to meet local demand and export to other countries. We should not be importing chickens because of complacency,” he said.
Njolomole said if Malawi exploits the full potential of the poultry industry, government can collect increased revenue in form of taxes, and the industry can also substantially assist in improving the financial well-being of farmers and providing nutritional requirements to the population.

With the Malawi Government pushing to see a majority of the country’s subsistence farmers graduating into commercial farmers, local seed producers have called upon farmers in the country to adopt the use of hybrid seeds which are high yielding and early maturing in order to substantially benefit from their trade.
The call has come at the time there are reports that some farmers are resistant to the use of modern agricultural methods including the use of hybrid seed varieties.
Seed Trade Union of Malawi (STUM) Business Development Officer Kawayawaya Chisi said local farmers can benefit from their activities if they start using improved seed varieties which are high yielding and early maturing.
He said studies have revealed that farmers using hybrid seeds benefit more than those using local seed varieties.
He said as one way of ensuring that most Malawians are reached with information about the importance of using hybrid seed varieties, STUM engages some Non-governmental organizations (NGO) to sensitize farmers in the rural areas on the importance of using modern seed varieties.
Bayer Malawi Limited Country Head Chikondi Dalitso Ng’ombe said there is a serious need for local farmers to start using modern agricultural technologies such as utilisation of improved seed varieties if the industry is to develop.
Ng’ombe said her Company is currently organizing meetings with farmers to convince them on the benefits of improved seed varieties.
Demeter Seed General Manager Prashant Khatri also said the use of improved seed varieties is the right direction farmers should take, if they want to benefit from their works.
Ruster Seed Managing Director Funny Thengo said the use of improved seed varieties leads to the realization of high-quality yields for the benefit of farmers through ensuring domestic food security and surplus for sale.
“Though some farmers are resistant to the use of modern seed varieties, we are doing everything possible for them to understand the benefits of using such seed varieties,” said Thengo.
In an attempt to ensure that local farmers use hybrid seeds, Seed Co, one of the local seed producers, has ventured into a programme of reaching remotest places of the country with their products. The Company’s Commercial Director Gift Kawamba said in an interview that through the initiative farmers who are resistant to the use of modern seed varieties are being engaged.
“We have realized that most farmers in the rural areas either use local or recycled seed varieties, so we have come up with the initiative aimed at reaching masses in the remotest areas with our products,” said Kawamba.
Premium Seed Director Frank Samidu said in an interview that the only way the country can increase its annual food production to meet the growing demand is tthe use of modern seed varieties that can adapt to climate change problems such as fluctuating rainfall patterns.
“It is painful for farmers to toil throughout the season just to get handful yields because they used wrong seed varieties,” said Samidu.
PYXUS Agriculture Limited Managing Director Ron Ngwira said in order to encourage farmers to use improved seed varieties, his Company is working with over 6,000 smallholder farmers on contract farming.
Ngwira said the farmers are growing different improved varieties of legumes mainly groundnuts across the country.
He also said his Company is working with the Department of Research in the Ministry of Agriculture to develop a new high yielding groundnut variety called CG-15.
“We always assure farmers that the only way for them to benefit from their activities is the use of hybrid seeds,” he said.
FURAHA Seed Managing Director Lucy Kanyowile and Felix Jumbe Director for Peacock seeds also admitted in separate interviews that the only reliable way for farmers to benefit from their activities is being cautious on the types of seeds they use.
Jumbe said the country would be food secure if all the farmers were to adopt modern seed varieties which are high yielding if compared with the indigenous varieties.
Seed Tech Chairman Eric Phiri said his company is also conducting campaigns to lobby farmers in the country to embrace improved seed varieties.
But farmers interviewed at random urged the seed producers to consider plight of the local farmer when setting prices for their seeds in order for them to stop planting recycled seeds which have a negative impact on the quantity and quality of yields.
To address the challenge of using poor quality seeds, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) harmonized seed regulatory systems.

The Malawi Government is encouraging investors to invest in growing of crops for biofuel production as the country is slugging behind in integration of biofuels into its energy systems despite international forecast on the energy source looking exquisite for the next 20 ears.
Ministry of Energy Spokesperson Upile Kamoto told Agribusiness Review that Malawi’s biofuel industry is mainly dominated by Ethanol Company of Malawi (Ethco) in Nkhota-kota and Presscane in Chikhwawa. The two companies utilize molasses, a bye product in sugar production to produce approximately 20 million litres of ethanol annually.
Kamoto said: “The two companies produce three grades of ethanol namely fuel ethanol, extra neutral alcohol and rectified alcohol, it is exported and also used locally for blending with petroleum products.”
“The country also produces biodiesel from Jathropha but on a small scale. Toleza farm in Balaka district initiated a Jathropha farming program in 2012 with the aim of producing biodiesel to fuel their farm equipment such as tractors.”
According to Malawi’s National Energy Policy 2018 (NEP 2018), biodiesel constitutes only 4% of transport energy which is mainly blended with petroleum fuels at 20:80 for petrol and 9:91 for diesel.
Kamoto said: “Production of bioethanol and other biofuels is one of the policy priority areas in the NEP 2018. Under this priority area, the government intends to support, encourage and promote the production of bioethanol and biodiesel for blending or standalone use in vehicles as well as cooking and lighting.”
“The government intends to do this by increasing the supply of biodiesel and bioethanol, promotion of fiscal incentives for bioethanol and biodiesel production as well as implementing socially and environmentally responsive large-scale bioethanol and biodiesel projects.”
Kamoto said with the Malawi Government promoting private sector participation in the biofuels industry, a number of investors are already showing interest in becoming players in this industry.
“Engagements with them are currently underway and government is providing necessary support and policy direction,” she said.
She explained that government is supporting, encouraging and promoting the production of bioethanol and biodiesel for blending or stand-alone use in vehicles, as well as for domestic use such as cooking and lighting.
“The Malawi government has the NEP 2018 as well as the Malawi Renewable Energy Strategy that promote the production and use of biofuels such as ethanol. Currently, the policy has made it mandatory for bio-ethanol and bio-diesel to be blended with petroleum fuels,” she said.
Kamoto also said the Ministry is, among other things, promoting production of bio-fuels through appropriate pricing incentives, and recently the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) facilitated a review of the ethanol pricing framework for biofuels.
“Previously, ethanol pricing was pegged to the price of petrol despite different cost structures. Currently, with fuel ethanol pricing in place, the industry is assured of fully recovering all production costs, overheads and distribution costs,” she said.
Kamoto further said government intends to promote the biofuel industry by researching into use of Ethanol Driven Vehicles (EDVs), promoting awareness campaigns on the uptake of new technologies such EDVs and also promoting importation of conversion kits for existing petrol-powered vehicles.
PressCane, an ethanol distillery company which is a subsidiary of the conglomerate Press Corporation Limited began its operations in June 2004. Its plant is located in Chikhwawa about 30 km north of Nchalo (55km south of Blantyre) and employs 118 Malawians including management.
The company’s Chief Operations Officer Bryson Mkhomaanthu explained that Malawi could do better to promote local production of biofuels as the industry is growing at a slow pace due to lack of feed stock- molasses as a case of PressCane Limited.
Mkhomaanthu said; “Current demand of fuel ethanol is over 40 million litres per annum while we produce 18 million litres per annum leaving a great deficit to cover.”
He, therefore, disclosed that the company has initiated expansion plans whereby it is to invest in sugarcane production to cushion feed stock shortage as it only relies on molasses obtained from sugar processing firms.
“We would like to start producing own sugarcane in the next three years and we are to increase production from 18 million litres to 27 million litres per year in three years
Mkhomaanthu also said there is need to promote sugarcane production through smallholder farmers and reviewing of tax measures to assist manufacturers improve on the profit margin from biofuel sales.
The main products of PressCane are fuel ethanol also known as anhydrous alcohol (AA 99.5% v/v) and industrial alcohol (rectified spirit 95.0 – 97.0% v/v). Sugar cane molasses are procured from Illovo in Nchalo and fermented into ethanol. The high quality of the ethanol is enhanced by the new molecular sieve dehydration (MSDH) technology installed in the distillery. In 2014, EthCo and Presscane initiated the project dubbed Raw Materials (RAMA). In their drive to increase ethanol production, the companies engaged smallholder sugarcane farmers to grow sugarcane with the aim of increasing the production of molasses.
Increased molasses production would ultimately mean increased feedstock for ethanol production thereby enabling the companies to operate their factories at full capacity. However, the long term plan is to use the sugarcane as feedstock for ethanol production, on top of the molasses from the sugarcane factories.
Global statistics indicate that Biofuels Market is expected to grow at a rate of not less than 8% during 2020-2025 propelled by the increased demand for secure, sustainable, and clean energy supply across the globe.
On account of higher mandates for biofuel blending in automotive fuels and increasing governments’ support for eco-friendly alternatives, the global consumption of biofuel is expected to further grow at a significant level during the forecast period.
The growing environmental need is to draw upon cleaner, renewable, sustainable energy sources to meet the ever-increasing demand for fuel.
Biofuels thus ethanol and biodiesel represent the majority share of renewables in global energy demand for road transport. Demand for bioenergy in the transportation sector is driven by blending mandates in significant economies and by sustained fuel use around the world.
From the 1980s, Malawi has been producing sugarcane ethanol and blending it at proportions of 10-25% with gasoline, in response to the 1970s energy crises and the higher costs of importing refined oil products into the landlocked country.

Despite ongoing efforts by the government to diversify into other potential sectors such as mining and tourism as major sources of foreign exchange, the Tobacco Commission (TC) says the future of tobacco, which is Malawi’s green gold, is still bright.
The Commission says there is lack of understanding on the performance of the industry by members of community who think the industry is dying.
TC’s CEO Dr. Joseph Chidanti Malunga told Agribusiness Review in an interview that there is need for a massive awareness campaign to deal with negative public perceptions about Malawi’s tobacco industry specifically on the issues of utilization of child labour and the world wide anti-smoking lobbying.
“There are a lot of things that people do not understand, that is including those who do research in this country because they just look at the tobacco industry without understanding to what extent these issues are affecting it ,” he said.
Malunga clarified that the anti-smoking lobby is not a major problem for Malawi’s tobacco industry as the existing buyers are still there, and more buyers are also entering the industry.
He said Malawi is also successfully fighting child labour in the industry with the country’s tobacco industry demanding child labor and abuse free strategies by farmers.
“The issue that is rocking the tobacco industry now is not anti-smoking lobby as being propagated but the issue is that everyone wants to produce tobacco without violation of human rights,” said Malunga adding currently the TC is working towards establishment of laws that will protect the farmer, buyer and laborer.
The bill that is under formulation is slated to incorporate the respect of human rights, provision of safe water and first aid medical facilities and other essentials right in tobacco farms.
Malunga said when the new legislation is operationalized, TC officials will be authorized to be inspecting the farms to ensure that no child labor is involved, the working environment is safe, and availability of other essentials for successful farming activities.
He said operationalization of such a law will boost the industry as well as bring back the glory it used to have in the past.
“In a nutshell, we want to eliminate all forms of human rights abuse in the tobacco industry,” he said.
Malunga also said there is growing negative perception towards the tobacco market prices with stakeholders speculating that the prices offered at the market are very low.
He, therefore, advised stakeholders to make a thorough analysis of the how the prices are trending by comparing the prices with the farmers’ inputs.
“When talking about the prices, let us all be looking at what the farmer is putting into his or her farming,” he said.
He explained that the input in terms of money and human resource plus quality of the output and the Malawi Kwacha exchange rate determines the deserving market price between the buyer and the seller.
But an agricultural expert Tamani Nkhono suggests that the country needs to go back to how the people used to do tobacco farming in 1980s, as some measures that were restructured were very fundamental.
Nkhono also advised authorities to accept the fact that the tobacco industry is dying in the country and find alternatives while pressing for the sustainability of the industry.
“We need to accept that the industry does not have a bright future in the country because if you look at the current trends, there is a reduction by at least 1% in the smoking rate due to the anti-smoking lobby,” he said.
He said this has affected sales of Malawi’s main tobacco variety, Burley, which is used for cigarette production as the framework convention on the anti-smoking lobby is targeting additives in cigarettes.
Nkhono also advised authorities to take a close look at the quality of the leaf that the country produces and sells to foreign buyers in comparison with the quality produced in other countries.
He said if the country improves on quality of the leaf, it will be attracting more buyers thus beating competition from other producing countries.
“Malawi has to try as much as possible to maintain or increase its market share by coming up with other interventions. We need to protect the economy by controlling who is supposed to be growing the crop and the quality. Not like it is the case now when there is chaos in the industry,” he said.
Malawi has a long history of tobacco production tracing it from 1920s. Currently, the country is among 10 leading producers of tobacco.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) targets the smoking rate to drop by almost 50% as of 2030 as a result of its anti-smoking lobby.
Statistics from WHO indicates that 18% of the total world population for men and 1% of the total world’s total population for women smoke tobacco.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s 2021 tobacco marketing season has ended with a rise in total tobacco sales and money the country has realized, as compared to that of last year.
Statistics from Auction Holdings Limited (AHL) indicates that a total of 123.7 million kilograms of all tobacco types were sold, from which the country realised US$197.1 million.
AHL’s Spokesperson Teresa Ndanga described the marketing season as a success by also looking at the average price that has risen compared to that of last year.
The statistics indicate that this year’s average price is at $1.59/kg thus higher than that of last year which was at $1.53/kg.
“Increased volume of traded tobacco and better average prices in the 2021 tobacco marketing season had a positive impact on the earnings compared to the revenue realized in 2020,” said Ndanga.
Among the major types of tobacco, farmers have sold 104,218,047 kilograms of Burley with a total of US$155,346,149.25 realized.
The country has also sold a total of 16,758,185 kilograms of Flue Cured tobacco and has generated a total of US$37,382,666.64 while on the other hand, some farmers brought a total of 2,678,109 kilograms of Dark Fired tobacco that has produced money amounting to US$ 4,321,361.76.
The average price for each tobacco type was at US$1.49/kg for Burley, US$2.23/kg for Flue Cured and US$ 1.61/kg for Dark Fired tobacco.
Ndanga said this year’s marketing season was a success also by considering the fact that the rejection rate dropped, the development which signifies that a lot of farmers sold their tobacco.
“The seasonal cumulative no-sale rejection on the auction burley market was lower at 11% this year, compared to 66% registered at the end of the season last year,” said Ndanga in a statement.

The completion period for the implementation of the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnection project has been shifted from the initial 2022 deadline to October 2023, Alex Kaitane, the Senior Project Manager at Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) has told the press.

Kataine attributed the change to the Covid-19 pandemic, whose preventative restriction measures to contain the disease prohibited foreign travels that would have facilitated project revision meetings between the two countries. 

“During the preparatory stage, we used to conduct meetings to plan its implementation, but Covid-19 interrupted the process, a development which forced us to embrace virtual meeting, until this too, met its own challenges,” he said.

He explained that among other plans to sustain the project and ensure that it remains on track even when the coronavirus resurfaces, ESCOM intends to involve local contractors to implement it.

The aim of the Malawi-Mozambique Interconnection Project is to incorporate Malawi into the Southern African Power (SAPP) which provides a platform for trading of electricity within the SADC Member states.

“The project will address the country’s frequent power outages resulting from high demand for electricity as it will be importing 50 Megawatts (MW) from Mozambique to boost its supply,” said Kataine.

It is planned that 218 kilometers long power lines will be constructed from Mozambique to Malawi with 76 kilometers lined in Malawi and 142 kilometers in Mozambique.

The US$127 million has seen the World Bank committing US$15 million to the project while the European Union supports it with 20 million Euros. Malawi as a beneficiary country has contributed US$2.5 million.

Reports indicate that the feasibility study for the project as well as environmental impact Assessment including Resettlement Policy have all been completed while implementation contracts have also been awarded.

A study done by an independent expert on logistics and infrastructure solutions for the Kasiya rutile project has confirmed Nacala Logistics Corridor (NLC) as preferred logistics route to haul the product to the world market.
The Kasiya deposit, which is being developed by ASX-listed group Sovereign Metals, is one of the largest undeveloped natural rutile deposits in the world located in central Malawi less than 50km from its capital city Lilongwe which provides exceptional benefits from the existing infrastructure available.
Sovereign Metals Managing Director Julian Stephens explains that the study has confirmed the NLC as reliable, efficient and high standard logistics solution with excellent existing infrastructure.
Stephens commented: “The exceptional established infrastructure in Malawi should result in a positive capital and operating cost outcome for Kasiya.”
“The availability of existing road, rail and port infrastructure for product export and project supplies’ imports provides a huge advantage for our world-class Kasiya Rutile Project.”
He explains that Sovereign will directly benefit from the exceptional existing infrastructure in central Malawi, which offers the preferred logistics route to the Nacala deep-water port in Mozambique through the Nacala Corridor for the export of mineral products to global markets.
Stephens also says established operation-ready logistics infrastructure provides significant capital and operation costs savings to the Company as the project continues posing a greenlight.
“By adopting the Nacala Rail Corridor as its preferred logistics solution with almost all overland distance on rail, Sovereign has the potential to reduce environmental impact and carbon footprint of Kasiya significantly compared to all-road alternatives,” says Stephens.
Sovereign has an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with regional rail operator Central East African Railways (CEAR) now named Nacala Logistics, for rail freight, port access and port handling services and is continuing with discussions for increased volumes based on the outcomes of the Company’s forthcoming Scoping Study for Kasiya.
The rail line of the NLC passes through Sovereign’s licence areas with established access via a short haulage to the rail head at the underutilized operational intermodal rail siding at Kanengo located ~50km from Kasiya.
NLC line also passes across the southern end of sovereign’s Nsaru mineralized envelope and is just 20km from the central part of Kasiya.
Meanwhile, Sovereign is assessing the possibility of establishing its own rail siding as a logistics option as part of the current Scoping Study to reduce haulage and potentially reduce operating costs.
The NLC is a 912km rail line for the purpose of transporting coal from mines in western Mozambique to the port of Nacala via Malawi.
For Malawi, the NLC provides the shortest and most direct access to the sea and global commodity markets.
The Corridor stretches from Moatize in Mozambique to Chipata in Zambia and passes through Lilongwe in Malawi to the Port of Nacala on the Indian Ocean.
Development of the NLC was essential for the expansion of global miner Vale SA (Vale) & Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co.’s (Mitsui) coal extraction activities in the Tete region of Mozambique.
In January 2021, Vale acquired Mitsui’s interest in the Moatize mine and the NLC to become the wholly owner of the operation.
NLC transported a daily average of 16,000Mt of coal and 1,150Mt of other cargo, operating a fleet of 101 locomotives and 2,677 wagons in 2020.
The landmark infrastructure project was driven by the governments of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, Vale, Mitsui, a consortium of several international and African banks and export credit agencies including the Japan Bank for International Co-operation, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance and African Development Bank.
Specifically, the governments of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia have gradually increased their investment in the NLC to approximately US$758 million, with support from the European Union, AfDB, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency and the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
The railway in Malawi is operated by Nacala Logistics who manage and control the NLC on behalf of the Joint Venture.
NLC has a capacity of 4-million tonnes of general cargo annually through Malawi and now they are actively seeking new freight customers.
Sovereign’s ground largely occurs within a 75km radius from Malawi’s capital city of Lilongwe and provides the Company with excellent access to sealed roads and short haulage distances to rail and future inbound and outbound of operational consumables and critical parts.
Kasiya is perfectly located to utilize the Class-1 bitumen road network which directly accesses the deposit area.
In 2015, The Roads Authority of Malawi completed an upgrade of the 95km long, Lilongwe Old Airport-Kwanyanda-Santhe (S117) and Kasiya spur (T342) road projects.
These upgrades resulted in Class-1 bitumen standard roads to 6.8m carriageway with 1.5m single sealed shoulders.
Sovereign will be able to take advantage of this underutilized road network for inbound and outbound logistics with any potential development.
The Company recently announced results of a maiden Minerals Resources Estimate (MRE) study on its flagship Kasiya rutile tenement which confirmed the deposit as one of the largest natural rutile deposits in the world.
Stephens explained that the results of the study proved that Kasiya is a strategic and globally significant natural rutile discovery.
He said: “It is a remarkable result to achieve the maiden JORC mineral resource estimate of this scale, grade and global significance in under 18 months since discovery.”
“We believe this maiden resource is just the beginning and expect to upgrade and expand the resource over the coming quarters.”
“The Company is surging forward with the Kasiya Scoping Study which will target a large-scale natural rutile operation to help address the supply deficit and reduce the titanium industry’s environmental footprint.”
The study results also confirmed that Kasiya natural rutile is the purest, highest-grade natural form of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and is the preferred feedstock in manufacturing titanium pigment and producing titanium metal.
Titanium pigments are used in paints, coatings and plastics; and have also specialty uses including in welding, aerospace and military applications.
Stephens said the latest results give his Company strength to scale up studies to expand the tenement, which will later see the Company supplying the global market with high grade natural rutile.
Comparing Kasiya to the other major rutile-dominant resources, the Lilongwe deposit sits within the top two largest natural deposits alongside Sierra Rutile.
Stephens forecasted that further near-future resource growth could see Kasiya potentially becoming the largest and preeminent rutile deposit globally, with Central Malawi potentially becoming the largest rutile province in the world.
He said the advantage of the project is that it is being developed at an opportune time when current sources of natural rutile are in decline as several operations’ reserves are depleting concurrently with declining ore grades. These include Iluka Resources’ (Iluka) Sierra Rutile and Base Resources’ Kwale operations in Kenya.

The National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) has launched a five-year fraud and corruption prevention policy to ensure a corrupt-free working environment within the council and the construction industry In Malawi.

Speaking during the launch of the policy in Lilongwe, NCIC Acting CEO Engineer Gerald Khonje said the policy has been developed to ensure that any form of fraud and corruption is not condoned in Malawi’s construction industry.

Khonje said the council is committed to investigate and accordingly deal with all suspected fraudulent and corrupt activities.

The policy will apply to all fraud and corrupt practices and to any suspected breaches involving the NCIC board; Management and staff members; persons engaged in the construction industry; service providers and; any other stakeholders who directly or indirectly transact with the Council.

Khonje said: “Indeed, the effects of corruption are rampant, and the country has witnessed in the past years serious cases such as the famous cash-gate scandal that led to the plunder of huge public money.”

“These practices have led to serious negative effects on national development and the council together with the entire construction industry is not exempted from the same.”

“The council realizes that its operations and that of the industry are susceptible to fraudulent and corrupt practices.”

“These practices have the potential to cause significant financial and non-financial harm. Therefore, the prevention and control of these practices should feature predominantly within the systems and procedures of the council and that of the industry.”

Khonje also stressed that the fraud and corruption prevention policy will prioritize areas of fraud and corruption prevention system; and internal control systems.

On fraud and corruption prevention system, the policy will focus on development and implementation of an effective fraud and corruption detective and correction system in the council.

While in internal control systems, the policy will spearhead adherence and enforcement of other policies that guild the council including; registration procedures, financial policies and procedures, codes of conduct, staff terms and conditions of service regulation and monitoring and; enforcement procedures.

He said: “So this policy will enhance transparency and accountability. You may be aware that we were also running that initiative in the construction industry that enhances disclosure of material project information about projects that are being implemented within the country.”

“With that accountability, duty bearers will be able to be held accountable by the citizenry because the citizenry will be empowered through sensitization as to what they should expect from the industry and how projects are expected to run.”

In her remarks, Deputy Minister of Transport Nancy Chaola Mdooko hailed the launch of the policy describing it as a catalyst towards eradicating fraud and corrupt activities in the industry as some citizens will be kept aware of what is bad in the system.

Mdooko said that the construction industry is one of the fertile industries that contributes towards boosting the country’s economy and, that keeping it a fraud and corrupt free-zone will rescue the country’s grappled economy.

“I am calling every citizen to take part in reporting any fraud and corrupt practices to ensure that the malpractice is prevented. On top of that I urge NCIC board to abide and live by the commitments and policies so that this policy should also be implemented on the ground not only on paper,” said Mdooko.

She appealed for more intervention and coordination amongst various stakeholders in the construction industry in developing the sector in order to meet the country’s the Malawi 2063 agenda.

Apart from the fraud and corruption prevention policy, NCIC also launched other two documents; disability policy to promote the contribution of men and women with disabilities in the country’s construction industry; and client service charter with a goal of developing an internationally competitive construction industry that positively responds to industry demands and technological advancement in provision of quality infrastructure products and services.