Mining & Trade News

I woke up that Thursday cloudy morning of June feeling the torment of cold weather. As per daily routine, my first task was to drop my last-born son Kondwani at Haven Primary School in Falls Township. The distance from my Chilinde home in Lilongwe to the school and proceed to office in nearby Biwi Township is short but appeared too long due to the low fuel levels in the tank of my car. I had last refuelled three days ago in Biwi Triangle, the five litres of petrol bought from the black-market fuel vendors at an inflated price of K65,000 due to the prevailing fuel shortage attributed to ferex shortage.

Lucky enough, I was able to drop Kondwani at Haven and drive safely to the office while my fuel gauge was stuck at the word Empty with the Danger Warning Light on signalling that the engine can switch off at any time due to a dry tank.

I was just settling in my office compiling my work list for the day when three visitors came in. It was my brother Alex with some two friends, all the three smart gentlemen clad in blue suits and neckties, the colour of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). “Oh, Alex long time! You are very much welcome.” I left my desk to greet the three before ushering them to the visitors’ chair.

It was a surprise for me to see Alex Chimwala, a brother I had not met for over five years. In fact, I had last met him at the funeral of my Uncle, Enock Ching’amba, in Machinjiri, Blantyre. Alex is a politician who contested as an Independent Parliamentary candidate in the 2025 elections in Blantyre South Lunzu Constituency but failed to make it to Parliament. I always avoid his company because he mainly discusses politics which I resent because I consider it a dirty game. He introduced his friends; one a tall dark plump guy as David and a short guy light in complexion in dark glasses as Solomon.

“You mining reporter, Alex told me politics is in play at this Kangankunde Mine in your father’s home district, Balaka,” Solomon directed the talk to me.

I explained to the three gentlemen that there is no any politics at Kangankunde. The developer of the mine, Lindian Resources, is a professional company listed on Australian Stock Exchange which demands good practices from listed companies with principles of sustainability at the core of development.

“What about the visit of Honourable Bright Msaka, the Minister of Education, to open school blocks constructed by Lindian at a primary school, was that not politics? I hear the Minister hailed Lindian saying “Adadi ayimanso (the State President will contest again in coming elections) because he is promoting mining which has seen Lindian constructing the blocks,” Solomon again posed the question.

I told the three gentlemen that Honourable Msaka only went to the school with his deputy and entourage from Ministry of Education to officially open Lindian’s Project Early Learning which involves construction of new blocks at Kangankunde Primary School.

“In your thinking, you appear to be a kid, Mr Writer. Where was the Minister of Energy and Mining and her team that time?”

I told Solomon and his team that I do not know but I think the Minister responsible for Mining and team could have missed the function due to their busy schedules.

“That aside, why did His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika remove our technocrat Mr Samuel Sakhuta from the position of Director General of Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority. Is that not connected to the Kangankunde Mine?”

I told him I do not know of any connection between Kangankunde Mine and the dismissal of the Director General of the Authority. What I think is that the President just moved the seasoned geologist Mr Sakhuta to assign him other befitting roles to maximise benefits for the country from his services.

But Solomon responded: “You are indeed a toddler Mr Writer. Mr Sakhuta was dismissed after he wrote a letter giving greenlight to Lindian Resources to export monazite concentrate to its downstream processing facility in Kazakhstan despite the Presidential ban on exportation of raw minerals with its regulations not gazetted yet. In the political circles, we believe he was still dancing to the tunes of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) because of such actions.”

“In his later responding to Lindian who was seeking clearance to start exporting the monazite for tests, Mr Sakhuta said the Executive Order excludes monazite from Kangankunde because Lindian will be sending concentrates, which is processed material yet this is only an immediate stage in the processing cycle.” He shared the letter to me through Whatsapp. We have published the letter in this column, and this is the same letter that Lindian used to fundraise from investors for its projects at Kangankunde and Kazakhstan where it has purchased a refinery.

“So now toddler, do you still think that there is no politics in mining? Then, why is Mr Sakhuta’s immediate boss in the Chakwera administration, the then Principal Secretary responsible for Regulation Activities, Mr Martin Kaluluma Phiri, now at Lindian as Head of the company’s Malawi operations?”

I told him that I just know Mr Kaluluma Phiri as a professional who is with Lindian due to his credentials.

“Is he a geologist or Mining Engineer?”  Solomon questioned.

Before I could answer David chimed in: : “Tell all the opposition sympathisers to get to get their hands off this mineral treasure at Kangankunde. This is a national asset not party property!” It is when I realised that David is a typical DPP zealot. His voice was just deep, alarming and appeared forceful in his tone.

I told him I do not want anything to do with politics, it will just smear my name and reputation as politics is a dirty game. This is the reason I refrain from meeting my brother Alex.

It was at this point that I had an opportunity to explain to the three politicians that it is necessary for all politicians not to meddle with mining projects. I narrated to them the ordeal of an investor in Lindian Resources based in Australia. Here is a man, who lost his right leg in a work accident. He invested his compensation in Kangankunde through Lindian hoping that his children and grandchildren will benefit from proceeds from this multigenerational deposit whose mine life is pegged at over 100 years.

This only invited the wrath of Alex: “Think of your son, Kondwani not those rich people in Australia! Will Kondwani and fellow kids of his generation in Malawi be able to find mining jobs when companies like Lindian continue to source rawer minerals in Malawi for downstream processing in European countries? Adad APM (referring to the State President) has a vision. This is why he issued the Executive Order banning raw mineral exports.”

At that point, I realised the time was running out for me to seek black market fuel and pick Kandwani from school. I told the guys to excuse me to look for fuel but it was David who came to my rescue. “I will give you five litres, my brother.” He opened the boot of his car, which the three men used in their trip from Blantyre, to produce a 5-litres gallon and a flexible pipe he used to drain petrol from his car into the galloon that was emptied into my vehicle.

That day David saved me from the pain of fuel scarcity as David of the Bible saved the Israelites from the wrath of Goliath and the Philistines. But as I arrived at Haven Primary School to meet the ever smiling Kondwani, I envisioned what I shared with the visitors and what the President could have had in mind when declaring the ban on raw minerals; a new Malawi, a haven where there is enough forex and no fuel scarcity because of better governance of mining projects such as Kangakunde. A Haven that will host Kondwani Chimwala as a University graduate able to find a job in metallurgy with companies conducting beneficiation of minerals locally!  

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