Gemstone miners, who are artisanal small-scale miners, have given authorities at the Capital Hill up to Tuesday this week to lift the ban on mineral exports.
Minister of Mining, Kenneth Zikhale Ng'oma, says commencement of extraction of rare earth at Kangankunde Mining Site in Balaka has potential to boost the country’s economy as the mining site will be able to remit over US$80,000 annually to Malawi’s economy.
Zozodo Gemstone Consultancy and Mining Company Limited has set ambitious plans for its 2025 financial year, including making massive investment in quarry mining, gemstone value addition and gemstone jewelry production in its efforts to improve the income stability for the company.
The increasing need for raw materials in infrastructure development, such as road and housing construction, has significantly spurred the mining sector's growth in Malawi. However, despite this growth, the country’s extractive industry remains relatively small, contributing less than one percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) as of 2020.