Mining
Government to establish loan fund for small-scale miners
May 06, 2024 / Tawonga Nyirenda Mayuni
Government says it is working on establishing a loan fund to finance operations of artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs).
The move follows complaints from ASMs that they fail to acquire financing to pursue their projects as many banks in Malawi regard ASM operations as risky.
Director of Mines in the Ministry of Mining Samuel Sakhuta told Mining and Trade Review that his Ministry is working with the Ministry of Finance to come up with the revolving fund for the ASMs.
“We have requested the Ministry of Finance to consider providing a package for procuring equipment for ASMs which when the people repay the loans, the money will also be given to others to develop their projects,” Sakhuta said.
Sakhuta also said the government will continue to lobby with lending institutions such as banks to consider loan services for ASMs.
MD for Maleta Gems and Jewels Percy Maleta told Mining and Trade Review recently that a revolving fund is the only way to alleviate the financial challenges faced by small scale miners in Malawi.
Maleta, whose firm is a key player in the ASM subsector, said that a revolving fund will enable the small-scale miners to increase production, create more jobs and bring more forex into the country through exportation of minerals including gold and gemstones.
He said: “Let us appreciate the fact that gold mining in Malawi is done 100 percent by small scale miners and so far over K5-billion has been spent to buy gold by the Export Development Fund (EDF), and this has been achieved without any financial support. Imagine if these small-scale miners were empowered with capital boosts. The contribution would be much more. The same applies to gemstones.”
Maleta said that it is painful to the ASMs to see that the mining sector is not being financially supported by government yet other economic sectors are heavily supported technically and financially citing agriculture which is enjoying substantial support through projects like the Agricultural Commercialization (AGCOM) and the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF).
“It pains to read, hear and see that our counterparts in small-scale agriculture are heavily supported technically and financially, talk of extension workers/officers, AGCOM with its billions of kwachas to support the cooperatives and recently NEEF, nothing is being done to small scale miners other than hearing from the government that mining is the main thing and touted to replace agriculture in the coming years. How do we achieve this without investing in the mining sector?” Maleta questioned.
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Rehabilitation:
The establishment of a stable and self-sustaining ecosystem, but not necessarily the one that existed before mining began. In many cases, complete restoration may be impossible, but successful remediation, reclamation, and rehabilitation can result in the timely establishment of a functional ecosystem.
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Remediation:
The cleanup of the contaminated area to safe levels by removing or isolating contaminants. At mine sites, remediation often consists of isolating contaminated material in pre-existing tailings storage facilities, capping tailings and waste rock stockpiles with clean topsoil, and collecting and treating any contaminated mine water if necessary.
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