Mining
Malawian small-scale miners want loan fund
March 12, 2024 / Tawonga Nyirenda Mayuni
Artisanal and Small-scale Miners (ASMs) are calling on the Malawi Government to establish a revolving fund to provide loans to finance operations of ASMs in the country in order to increase the contribution of the subsector to socio-economic development.
MD for Maleta Gems and Jewels Percy Maleta told Mining and Trade Review that a revolving fund is the only way to alleviate the financial challenges faced by small scale miners in Malawi.
Maleta 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.
Commenting on the issue, Managing Partner for Perekezi ASM consultants Chikomeni Manda said that the revolving fund is indeed needed and its introduction in the country is long overdue because it will help small scale miners find capital to boosts their operations.
“It is very difficult for small scale miners to sustain their operations especially now with the high inflation rate,” Manda said.
Countries like Tanzania and Zambia have a revolving fund for small scale miners.
ASMs in Malawi are currently struggling to acquire financing as banks consider the business risky.
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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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