The Malawi Mining Investment Company (Mamico) says it needs about K300 billion annually to buy gold from local miners and help curb the smuggling of the mineral out of the country.
The company says it requires K85 billion for the first three months of operation to establish a formal gold market that would enable artisanal miners to sell their gold to government-approved buyers.
Mamico Chief Executive Officer Leonard Kalindekafe disclosed this during a tour of the company’s Gold Trading Centre facility in Lilongwe by Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo.
Kalindekafe said Malawi continues to lose significant revenue through gold smuggling because many miners lack access to a reliable formal market.
He said the company had prepared the necessary equipment and trained personnel to begin buying gold but was waiting for capital and the finalisation of off-take agreements with the relevant institutions.
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“We are 100 percent ready. The different centre are ready; the people have been trained, and the equipment is available. What remains is the offtake agreement,” said Kalindekafe.
Kalindekafe said the company was also preparing to expand its operations to seven sites to increase access to formal gold markets across the country.
He said Mamico was studying gold mining and processing methods used in Zimbabwe and South Africa to establish appropriate systems for extracting the mineral locally.
Minister of Mining Thoko Tembo said the government was working with Mamico, the Ministry of Finance, banks, and other relevant institutions to ensure that locally mined gold was sold through formal channels and proceeds channeled to the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
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He said establishing an attractive formal market would encourage miners to sell their gold to government-approved buyers.
He said the government was also working on legislative measures to address loopholes that facilitate gold smuggling.
Tembo said the government-backed gold market would offer competitive prices to encourage miners to sell their produce through official channels.
He said retaining gold within the formal economy could help improve foreign exchange availability, increase government revenue through taxes and royalties, and create employment opportunities.
