Minerals found in Lilongwe
Australian mining firm, Sovereign Metals Limited, has confirmed the discovery of High Grade Jumbo Flake Graphite at Malingunde in Lilongwe.
Graphite is on high demand on commodity markets because of its unique properties and high-end applications.
In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Monday, the firm said the development further enhances the potential for best-in-class margins at Malingunde.
Sovereign Metals is targeting a low-capital and operations expenditure operation by processing the soft, low strip, free-dig saprolite material at Malingunde.
Sovereign Metals Managing Director, Julian Stephens, said the world-class jumbo and super-jumbo flake distribution results significantly enhance the potential basket price for Malingunde concentrates and should have a substantial positive impact on future project revenues.
“This, coupled with the inherent low capex and low opex nature of soft saprolite operations provides the potential for best in class operating margins at Malingunde,” Stephens said.
According to Sovereign Metals, the robust metallurgical response of material throughout the saprolite zones provides further increased confidence in the process design parameters adopted for the Scoping Study currently underway.
Despite being touted as having great potential to propel the economy, mining has failed to make a significant contribution to Malawi with latest figures pegging the contribution of the sector at less than 10 percent of GDP.
Since the halting of operations at Paladin’s Kayelekera uranium mine in Karonga in 2014, Malawi has not had any significant mining operations
