By George Mponda
Karonga, October 31, Mana: Senior Chief Kilipula of Karonga has said the lack of a mineral analysis laboratory in Malawi is leading to a loss of revenue and creating room for shady deals in the mining industry.

Speaking during a Karonga Council Meeting on Wednesday where the Ministry of Mining together with Lotus Africa Limited the operators of Kayelekera Uranium Mine were making a presentation on the Community Development Agreement, Kilipula said taking samples for testing outside the country is not ideal.

"In the past, we have seen truckloads of samples being taken outside the country saying they are going to run tests on them. However, this makes us question how come such large amounts of samples are being taken for testing and who accompanies the samples. Do they even return home after the tests?" Kilipula wondered.

Kilipula said most residents are not aware of the operations of an exploration license granted to companies because they still see samples being taken away the same as in a fully operational mine which is puzzling to them.

"Government needs to build our mineral analysis laboratory which will reduce the costs incurred by mining companies and this will also increase our trust in the mining industry which at the moment is very low," he added.

In her remarks, Principal Mining Engineer in the Ministry of Mining Regina Kakwela said large-scale mining companies that have been granted exploration licences conduct their work over a large area hence large amounts of samples.

"Indeed at the moment, Malawi does not have a mineral analysis laboratory which is why the samples are taken mostly to South Africa where they run tests. If we had this laboratory here in Malawi, a lot of costs could be cut," Kakwela said.