By Vincent Gunde
A locally registered company granted an exploration license following approval of Environmental and Social Management Plan ( ESMP) – Pan Africa Mining Limited, is implementing mineral exploration project in the areas of Traditional Authorities Msakambewa and Chiwere in Dowa district.
The mineral exploration project is for the basic metals such as Graphite, Lead, Lithium and Platinum for economic evaluation.
Before commencing field activities, Pan Africa Mining Limited has reviewed geological maps of the licensed area, examined historical exploration reports and mineral occurrence records.Chakwera Calls Of Protection Of Minerals Resources From West
Presenting the update of the mining exploration project to the Dowa District Council, the organization’s Exploration Geologist Raphiq Phiri, said the project has held consultation meetings with all relevant stakeholders to inform them about the prospective exploration programme before commencement.
Phiri said the licensing area was divided into six potential mineralization zones determined during the literature review saying the geological features such as rock, out crops, soil type and minerals were assessed and recorded during traversing.
He said the next stages of exploration such as pitting, preliminary drilling, and sample analysis focussed much in the zones that indicated mineralization.
The Geologist said exploration activities were concentrated around Group village headman Bimphi in the area of Traditional Authority Chiwere target zone which had been identified as a priority area from previous exploration studies.Malawi Poised to Become Leading Supplier of Critical Minerals for Global Energy Transition
He said a total of 855 pits were done during the exercise resulting into a total of 855 samples saying approximately, a total of 1,455 Kilograms samples were collected and kept at their office in Lilongwe for Laboratory analysis.
Phiri said geophysical survey was aimed at investigating the subsurface geological conditions and identify zones with potential graphite mineralization within GVH Bimphi area.
” Graphite is generally a highly electrically conductive mineral, conductive zones can be detected as low – resistivity anomalies,” he said.
The Geologist said five final year students from MUST and UNIMA were recruited as interns and gained practical experience in pit sampling, and drilling supervision saying the internship programme helped bridge the gap between academic training and industry practice that is enhancing the students’ professional skills.
However, Phiri said the mineral exploration project has been meeting challenges such as poor access roads resulted in temporary suspension of work during the rainy season, denied permission to access some pit points by land owners due to lack of understanding of the exploration programme, and encroachment by illegal miners.Why Are Malawi Cabinet Ministers Silent on Alleged “Gold Shipment to Israel”? Public Demands Answers Grow
Going forward, Phiri said since the project is showing some positive results in most of the areas, the company will continue to carry out further activities as planned in the district.
Geologist at the Regional Geologist Centre Chikumbutso Kambilonje, advised Pan Africa Mining Limited to be transparent as they have shown by coming to the Dowa District Council describing this as a commendable job encouraging them to come back again to bring an update on the work being done on the ground, appealing to the company to share with the council and communities their findings.
And in his remarks, Dowa District Council’s Principal Environmental Officer Yusuf Laki, welcomed the mineral exploration project into the district advising Pan Africa Mining Limited to share information with the council on how the exploration is progressing to enhance cooperation, transparency and accountability.