The government has pegged losses the country is incurring through illegal mining activities at between $300 and $500 million annually.
The revelation is coming at a time the mining sector is contributing a skimpy 1 percent to gross domestic product (GDP).
Acting Principal Secretary for Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Andrew Chisamba bemoaned the development, saying mining could enable the country to generate the much-needed forex.
Chisamba said this when he engaged stakeholders during a sensitisation and awareness meeting held in Kasungu District.
“We have not conducted a proper assessment yet but the country is losing approximately $300 to $500 million per year due to illegal mining,” he said.
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Chisamba said the government was working closely with stakeholders to ensure that Malawi benefits from its mineral resources.
He cited the establishment of proper markets beyond the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) as one of the mechanisms for formally generating funds from the sector.
“Currently, the country has only one proper market, which is the Reserve Bank of Malawi. The government has also established another company to support the process of buying minerals from both small-scale and large-scale miners,” Chisamba said.
He added that the ministry had started forming cooperatives to bring order to the sector.
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“We are currently working on the formalisation process, where cooperatives are formed for proper recognition as well as to facilitate basic training in mining,” the principal secretary said.
On his part, Mining and Minerals Regulatory Authority (MMRA) Director General Mphatso Chikoti said efforts were being made to legalise illegal mining by issuing licences that would help policymakers to control the smuggling of minerals.
“We, as a regulatory body, have observed both legal and illegal mining operations. We are working closely with relevant stakeholders to restore order and prevent smuggling,” Chikoti said.
Meanwhile, Senior Chief Kaomba of Kasungu District has pledged to support stakeholders in ensuring that sanity prevails in the mining sector.
“We, as traditional leaders, will enact bylaws to help end illegal mining so that the government can benefit from the country’s natural resources,” he said.
The meeting brought together stakeholders and traditional leaders from Kasungu, Nkhotakota and Lilongwe districts.
This year alone, 11 people have died following the collapse of illegal mining sites in Kasungu District.
