Mining
Mining needs to resume at Kayelekera
January 30, 2024 / Marcel Chimwala
The uranium market looks promising for Malawi which hosts the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in Karonga currently on care and maintenance.
The former tenement holder Paladin Africa put the mine on care and maintenance following a drop in market prices for uranium due to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in Japan which resulted in the closure of many nuclear power plants in Asia reducing demand for the yellow cake.
But as reported in our lead article, Trading Economics indicates that uranium prices were at $91 per pound in early January, holding the surge from late 2023 that took prices to 16-year highs amid strong demand and risks to supply.
Volatile fossil fuel prices and ambitious de-carbonization goals drove the US and 20 other countries to announce that their nuclear power will be tripled by 2050.
The large bets on nuclear energy are led by China, which is building 22 out of 58 global reactors, while Japan restarted projects to increase nuclear power output, and a new reactor in Finland marked Europe’s first new facility in 16 years.
But currently the Malawi Government is negotiating a Mine Development Agreement (MDA) with the present tenement holder Lotus Africa to reopen the mine.
We agree with a mining expert and MD for Chiwandama Geo-Consultants John Nkhoma that with these positive developments on the uranium market, there is need for the Government and Lotus to agree that work to refurbish the plant at Kayelekera starts in readiness for production while the MDA is being finalised.
With such high prices, chances are very high that Lotus will make an investment decision to mine uranium at the site.
Just as Coordinator for Chamber of Mines and Energy Grain Malunga says in the article, the high uranium price is advantageous to both Government and Lotus implying both parties would like to see production resuming at the mine to rake in revenue.
It is sad that Malawi is currently struggling with foreign exchange shortages while it hosts this asset which can rake in millions of dollars through uranium sales.
By delaying production at Kayelekera, Malawi is also denying prospective employees an opportunity to work at the mine.
Besides, reopening the mine will have plenty of other benefits including offering business opportunities to locals including farmers who will be selling their produce to employees at the mine.
As a large scale miner, Lotus will also sign a Community Development Agreement which will ensure that it executes development projects proposed by the community.
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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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