Mining & Trade News

While most new university graduates in mining related courses are hopping from one office to another in search of employment, one John Vasco Chidule, aged 27, thought otherwise. Wearing the accolade of a professional Geologist with a degree in Earth Sciences obtained in the year 2022 from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), he decided to brave the world and become an entrepreneur.

His passion for rocks made him amplify his determination to go more than just acquiring academic papers from MUST, where he studied from 2017 to 2021.

The resolute young man decided to form his own company that he christened Zozodo Gemstone Consultancy and Mining Limited (ZGC), headquartered in Mzimba district.

“I actually registered this company in the year 2019, even before I graduated from MUST. This was because of my passion for geology and mining, and the quest to become an investor in this field; I felt the academic acumen I was getting, was more beef to steer me into becoming an investor,” he said in an interview.

The young and currently unmarried Chidule ignited his pursuit for practical geology and mining when during his early college days – whilst in his second year – he started to enjoy more field than class work.

“As part of this, culminated by my enjoyment of exploration of the surroundings per the nature of the degree program, I managed to have in my hostel room, a great mineral and rocks collection, which I used to study every day,” said Vasco, adding that this became a vessel of achieving his dream of pursuing the geological field realities, other than the trend of many, who become addicted to theory which mostly leads to the mentality of being an “employed material”.

As CEO of his own ZGC, he feels great that his passion has led to the fulfilment of his dream, while agitating for more.

He articulated: “During holidays, I used to have my own surveys around the mining places in Mzimba. I learnt more on how these minerals were identified locally, that is, by the use of trees as path finders and other features, which was never taught in class.”

“I also leant the tricks of how local miners traded the minerals; that is at what prices these minerals were being sold, after being mined by the smallholder miners. The prices were so motivating, and more so ignited my desire of becoming a self-employed investor.”

He said he, therefore, mapped up his future strategy by starting to look at his university degree program course with a business angle, wearing the commercial grasses on each aspect of minerals.

Whilst in the process, his new spectacle of geology and mining, made him also work hard in class, which saw him getting good grades for his qualification. This tied well with his earlier secondary school career ambitions of becoming a geologist.

“In secondary school I fell in love with Geography, after being tipped that such a subject was my passport towards becoming a geologist. No wonder my first choice for a university course was Earth Sciences [Geology], and was too excited when I was selected to MUST, just to do the same,” he re-counted.

Being motivated by the practical exposure and investment quest, Vasco was propelled to study even harder, and more on the practical aspect of the course.

This was evidenced by his brilliant and excellent prowess in class during his first and second year, up to the third one, when he always scored credit passes, putting him on the summit of the geology class.

“Some were surprised with my good understanding of the rocks, but they did not know what I was doing back home during holidays,” he articulated.

But, his academic journey and mission for becoming an investor was not without challenges.

“Despite the said academic strong points, weak points came my way just like fellow students. There were no labs to support the Geology course for the analysis of minerals and rocks at the institution during our time. This limited my knowledge on the minerals and rocks; which, unfortunately, was my priority,” he said.

Secondly, he cited the lack of well-trained practical lecturers – with a deeper understanding of field work, than theory. This, he said, resulted in the baking of many geological students to be more of ‘class or office experts’ than fully fledged geologists.

“Lastly, personal financial crisis, led to my prioritising minerals trading business, rather than being in class learning. This obviously affected my performance; this is because every weekend I was out of the school campus to the field, to buy minerals and sell in Lilongwe, so as to support myself and my siblings back home,” he explained.

But the challenges solidified the ambition of investing in the field.

Deep into minerals trading, he realized there were lots of gaps and challenges that small-scale miners were experiencing.

Vasco said: “I saw the extreme poverty among small scale miners. That solidified my ambitions of becoming an investor, hence the formation of the company in 2019.”

“The idea emanated from the vision of having a company that should focus on mining of precious minerals only. After putting the idea on paper, though, challenges encountered by all small-scale miners came in, but determination made me to struggle on, to make it a company.”

“This company is also aimed at assisting small scale miners with profitable markets, teach miners on good and productive methods of mining; while supporting them with modern knowledge that will transform their life standards.”

He said his business entity intends to be an example of proving that small-scale mining is beneficial, not only to those involved, but also the nation at large, by helping enhance its economy.

Currently the company has employed 25 people, of which 20 are at the mine site –  who are unskilled labour – and  five are doing office work as skilled labour force, who are graduates of MUST and the Malawi University of Business and Applied Science (MUBAS).

“So, in simple terms, we are an entity that blends skilled experts and unskilled labour, but all committed to make a difference,” said Vasco, adding that his motive is also to prove that fresh graduates can make a difference when there is enthusiasm, and a conducive climate towards such investments.

He bemoaned the tendency of most mining graduates of moving out of Malawi for greener pastures saying there are opportunities within the country.

Vasco, however, admitted that challenges exist within the industry for mining graduates, mostly due to the zero sector development and prioritization by the Government of Malawi.

“Mining is one of the most beneficial economic sectors in various countries, but the case is different in Malawi. This has led to less development and improper support of the sector, hence there are no job opportunities for mining graduates. Also, there are no huge loan opportunities for fresh graduates, with zero collateral,” said Vasco.

He however advised the said graduates to soldier on, whilst ensuring their vision to promote this industry is realized. This, he said, would help grow the economy of Malawi.

Vasco’s company has got a district exploration licence, with the mandate to explore for gemstones in Mzimba, and also a mining licence.

“Among the gemstone minerals the company has explored, only bulk minerals have been selected to be mined, due to their profitability and affordability, to mine. Some of these bulk minerals found are: rose quartz, clear quartz, mica, beryllium and yellow stone.

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