Malawi – The Malawian government says four exploration
projects for heavy mineral sands in the country have reached
advanced phases that include bankable feasibility studies and pilot
mining.
Malawian Director of Mines Grain Malunga says in a mining review
for the first quarter of the year 2004 that three of the four
heavy-mineral-sands projects that have recorded notable progress
are being implemented by an Australian mining company, Millennium
Mining, which is in the process of incorporating partners
“since the projects are very big”.
The three projects that are owned by Millennium include the Chipoka
heavy sands, in the Central Lake Malawi shore district of Salima,
the Makanjira project, in the southerngold diamond mining equipment to rent ghana lakeshore district of
Mangochi, and the Halala project, which is concentrating on
heavy-mineral-sands deposits along the shores of the southern Lake
Chilwa.
He says Millennium has exclusive prospecting licences for the
deposits in the three project areas, and its exploration and
evaluation programmes have been targeted at the minerals ilmenite,
rutile and zircon.
Information collected from surveygypsum mining equipment and mining process reports indicates that
Malawi’s heavy mineral sands have an average mineral content
of 13%, which is higher compared to 10% for Richards Bay, in South
Africa, 4,77% for Hillendale, in South Africa, 4,8% for Dongara, in
Australia, 10,4% for Tamil Nadu, in India and 3% for Kwale, in
Kenya.
Malunga reports that his office has received feasibility and
environmental-impact assessment study reports for
Millennium&rsquplanta detrituracion depiedra durao;s Lake Chilwa project which is dubbed the Halala
heavy-mineral-sands project. “A mineable resource of
15-million tons has been delineated at the project area with high
economic grades for ilmenite and zircon,” he says.
On the Salima and Makanjira projects, Malunga says: “During
the review period rigorous data from analysis and interpretation
work for the two projects was well advanced, with target potential
mining areas icopper sulphate manufacturing equipmentdentified for which bankable feasibility studies are
planned.” Information sourced from Millennium Mining projects
director Mike Moles indicates that there are estimated to be
several hundred million tons of heavy-mineral resource in both
Salima and Makanjira project areas.
The Makanjira project alone is estimated to have a mining life of
over 50 years, with 7-million tons of heavy-mineral product
produced annually from two smeoperation of cone crusherlters at a cost of $50-million.
The mineral income is pegged at $185-million before overheads, with
the Malawian government benefiting $38-million.
Moles reports that the projects are in a position to benefit from
the power interconnector, which is to be construc-ted from
Mozambique to Malawi. The interconnector will ensure adequate power
for the project at a reasonable price.
He also says the planned rehabilitation of the railway line from
the Mozambican port of Nacala to Malawi will make the project more
feasible, as it will lower the cost of transportation of the
products of the project.
The other heavy-mineral-sands project that has reported substantial
progress in Malawi is one by a local mining company, Allied
Procurement Agency (APA), which is reported to be working with a
South African partner, Mineral Sands.
The project targets the mineral deposit at Chipoka lakeshore area
in the district of Salima. Malunga reports that, in the project,
which is in the pilot mining and processing stage, APA is
interested in the minerals ilmenite, rutile, zircon and
garnet.
He says that various equipment for the project has been sourced
from South Africa, and has started arriving in Malawi.
“Barge assembly is over 80% complete. Installation of the
pipeline for transporting concentrate from the mine area to Chipoka
harbour is also well advanced, so is maintenance work on the
dredge,” says Malunga.
Chipoka is one of the Lake Malawi ports, and is well-placed for
transporting of material for the projects because it is linked to
the rail network that connects Malawi to the Mozambican seaports of
Nacala and Beira.