Malawi has been facing genralised economic woes for a long time now. The recent boom and discovery of assorted mineral deposits and the continued exploration works underway in Malawi might just turn out to be one of the ways to overcome the current the economic woes that are holding Malawi back.
It is estimated that the mining industry currently contributes only 1% of GDP and it is envisioned that an estimated growth of up to 10% could easily be realised going forward. Some of the minerals recently found in Malawi are phosphates, bauxite, gemstones, more coal, titanium, strontianite, monazite and uranium (potentially the 4th largest global deposit).
The primarily contributing factors to Malawi's worsening economic situation are poor fiscal policies, high inflation, deep poverty levels, and an over-reliance on tobacco sales as the main source of forex. The current decline in global demand for tobacco has left the country in a tough situation and foreign currency shortages are discouraging local and global investors from supporting the economy.
In recent times the global minerals industry has experienced rapid growth, and Malawi has the potential to benefit significantly from the expansion in its mineral exploration and in its mineral projects moving into the future.
These mining initiatives could significantly decrease the country’s reliance on imports which deplete the currently low foreign currency reserves. By producing high-quality minerals domestically, while also supporting Malawi’s broader industrialisation goals, these mining initiatives will definitely change the status of the economy for the better.
It is against this background that Malawi’s Akatswiri mineral resources have embarked on mining projects at two sites in Mulanje, at Linje and Lichenya around the Mulanje mountain area. The project estimates that $260 million revenue can be realised from 580,000 tons of bauxite, that will be processed into 100,000 tons of aluminium annually.
If these goals and targets are realised, it will offer a significant boost to the sluggish economy and positively pave way for investors to take a deeper interest in investing in Malawi, with the belief that they will garner healthy returns from their investments in the immediate, medium and long term.