Mkango Resources Limited is expected to commence its uranium project in Thambani, Mwanza during the first quarter of this year.
Mkango has 100 percent ownership of the Thambani area, following the government’s decision to renew its exploration licence last year.
According to a statement issued by the company, following recent management site visits, Mkango is set to start its exploration programme in Thambani during the first quarter.
The statement, states that the programme will comprise follow up of the results of the World Bank airborne geophysics survey reported in 2016 and of previous exploration programmes completed by Mkango, and will include but is not limited to further mapping, soil and rock chip sampling, trenching and ground truthing of new geophysical anomalies.
Mkango president, Alexander Lemon, said there is renewed interest in uranium on the global market.
“The market is clearly seeing renewed interest in uranium projects in recent months following moves by Kazakhstan to cut production and the increasingly apparent lack of supply for new reactors being brought online over the next five years in countries such as India and China.
“Our strategy for the project remains to bring in a joint venture partner, but we believe that we will enhance value for our shareholders in the near term by pushing ahead with a clearly defined, low cost exploration programme following the end of the rainy season in Malawi. We look forward to updating shareholders in the near future,” Lemon said.
He further said whilst uranium is the primary focus of the exploration programme, Mkango will also evaluate the licence for its lithium potential.
“The Thambani licence area is host to pegmatite occurrences, which can be a potential host rock for lithium. Further more, historical reports refer to an occurrence of a lithium mineral in the licence area. However, these need further geological investigation to determine the significance, and the main focus is on uranium,” he said.
Mkango is also advancing its exploration project of rare earth elements at Songwe Hill in Phalombe