Mkango to Commence Exploration on 100% Owned Thambani Uranium Licence Following Termination of Agreement With MetalNRG TSX Venture Exchange:MKA

Mkango to Commence Exploration on 100% Owned Thambani Uranium Licence Following Termination of Agreement With MetalNRG TSX Venture Exchange:MKA: LONDON and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or "Mkango"), announces that the Company and MetalNRG plc (“MetalNRG”) have agreed to terminate their Non-Binding Heads of Terms Agreement announced on April 29, 2019, which set out their intention to enter into an earn-in agreement for Mkango’s Thambani Licence (“Thambani”). The parties were to have entered into the Transaction Agreement on or before 30th June 2019.

Following the inflow of �1.1 million from the recent warrant exercise, Mkango has decided to commence a further exploration programme at Thambani in 2019, therefore retaining 100% of the Thambani exploration exclusive prospecting licence, which features multiple zones of high-grade uranium, tantalum and niobium, with a number of extensive uranium radiometric anomalies. In parallel, Mkango will continue to evaluate partnership opportunities for the project.

Further updates will be provided on Thambani in due course.

The feasibility study for the Songwe Hill Rare Earths project continues in parallel, fully funded by strategic partner, Talaxis Limited, a subsidiary of Noble Group.

Treasury shifts focus to banks - The Nation Online

Treasury shifts focus to banks - The Nation Online: Treasury has for the past 18 months resorted to borrowing heavily from commercial banks and other non-bank institutions, shifting away from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), a latest World Bank report has said.

The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM), a biannual publication of the World Bank that reviews Malawi’s recent economic developments and was launched in Lilongwe on Tuesday, observes that government net credit from banks has more than doubled to K403 million from K200 million in the first three quarters of the 2018/19 fiscal year ending June 30.

The report also reveals that net borrowing from non-bank sector has also increased by 62 percent over the same period from K418

Public debt on the rise - The Nation Online

Public debt on the rise - The Nation Online: Malawi is one of the six countries in sub-Saharan Africa whose debt to GDP ratio has more than doubled in the past nine years, according to a World Bank report.

Debt to GDP ratio is the ratio between a country’s government debt to its nominal gross domestic product (GDP), currently at $6.3 billion (about K4.6 trillion) for Malawi.

The World Bank preliminary report titled Debt, Growth and Stability in Africa: Speculative Calculations and Policy has attributed the rising public debt, particularly external debt, to a 50 percent depreciation of the kwacha between 2012 and 2016.

Hylea Metals to scoop up Kayelekera uranium project from Paladin Energy

Hylea Metals to scoop up Kayelekera uranium project from Paladin Energy: Cobalt explorer Hylea Metals (ASX: HCO) could potentially own 85% of the Kayelekera uranium project in Malawi after entering an agreement to initially purchase 65% of the asset from Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN).

The Government of Malawi holds a 15% equity in the project, with Hylea’s joint venture partner Chichewa possessing 20%.

Under a separate deal, Hylea has the option to acquire Chichewa’s stake in the project, which would effectively give Hylea 85% of the asset

Paladin offloads majority stake in Kayelekera uranium mine to Lotus - Australian Mining

Paladin offloads majority stake in Kayelekera uranium mine to Lotus - Australian Mining: Paladin offloads majority stake in Kayelekera uranium mine to Lotus
June 24, 2019News Alex Gluyas

The stake in Kayelekera will be sold for $5 million, comprising $200,000 in cash and $4.8 million in Hylea shares to be issued to Paladin.

Met work excites at Sovereign’s African rutile play | Business News

Met work excites at Sovereign’s African rutile playdeveloper Sovereign Metals can’t believe its luck at the moment, with recent metallurgical test work on titanium oxide “rutile” mineralisation from the Wofiira prospect in Malawi, demonstrating the high-quality nature of the recovered concentrate product.

The company discovered large areas of the rutile mineralisation from re-assaying of historical auger drill holes at the Wofiira rutile zone in January and this week’s test results show the material is potentially a premium, high-value product, with low levels of penalty elements.

Sovereign Metals produces high-quality rutile product from Malawi tenements

Sovereign Metals produces high-quality rutile product from Malawi tenements: Junior explorer Sovereign Metals (ASX: SVM) has generated a “high-quality” rutile product during metallurgical test work on mineralisation from its large ground holding in Malawi.

Test work produced a 96% titanium dioxide rutile product that meets or exceeds market specifications.

Trump administration backs largest-ever U.S. investment in Africa as Anadarko Petroleum invests in $20 billion LNG project - Talk Business & Politics

Trump administration backs largest-ever U.S. investment in Africa as Anadarko Petroleum invests in $20 billion LNG project - Talk Business & Politics: Houston-based oil and gas independent Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which agreed to a unsolicited $38 billion takeover bid from rival Occidental Petroleum Corp. last month, plans to spearhead the largest U.S. source investment on the African continent in a deal strongly backed by the Trump administration.

On Tuesday (June 18), U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Karen Dunn Kelley led an overseas delegation of U.S. government officials to witness the historic $20 billion signing ceremony by Anadarko and the government of Mozambique to construct a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminal just off the coast of the southeast African nation

Rare Earths Developer Mkango Resources Receives �1.1 Million (c$1.9 Million) From Exercise of Warrants TSX Venture Exchange:MKA

Rare Earths Developer Mkango Resources Receives �1.1 Million (c$1.9 Million) From Exercise of Warrants TSX Venture Exchange:MKA: LONDON and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or "Mkango"), the rare earths development company currently completing a Feasibility Study for the advanced stage Songwe Hill project in Malawi, announces the exercise of warrants over 17,226,210 common shares without par value in the share capital of the Company ("New Shares") at an exercise price of 6.6 pence each, for an aggregate consideration of �1,136,930.

This includes 3,333,333 warrants exercised by Derek Linfield, Chairman of the Company, following which he will hold a beneficial interest in 5,139,561 Shares, representing approximately 3.9 per cent. of the Company’s issued share capital.

Hundreds of Castel-linked jobs at stake - The Nation Online

Hundreds of Castel-linked jobs at stake - The Nation Online: Hundreds of Castel-linked jobs at stake
Steve Chilundu June 18, 2019 0 Comments
Hundreds of jobs linked to Castel Malawi Limited, producers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, are at stake after the company threatened to close its business in protest of high excise tax rate.

In a statement issued yesterday, Castel Malawi, which took over from Carlsberg Malawi Brewery, said its efforts to negotiate with Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on the matter have failed and the tax collector issued a final notice against the company.

Sunbird in K1.2bn room renovations at Nkopola - The Nation Online

Sunbird in K1.2bn room renovations at Nkopola - The Nation Online: Sunbird Tourism plc, a Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed hotel chain, says it has invested about K1.2 billion in the renovation and refurbishment of 55 rooms at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi.

In an interview during a familiarisation tour of bookers and tour operators on Saturday at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge, Sunbird group sales and marketing manager Temwa Kanjadza said the investment is part of their product improvement plan.

Malawi initiates compact dialogue - The Nation Online

Malawi initiates compact dialogue - The Nation Online: he Malawi Government, through the Malawi Millennium Development Trust (MMDT), formerly Millennium Challenge Account Malawi (MCA-M), has initiated consultations with various stakeholders to validate findings of the constraints analysis on the development of a second compact, it has been learnt.

The Constraints Analysis Review and Validation workshops follow the first stage of the development of a new compact, which started in March this year, with a constraints analysis process to identify key binding constraints to Malawi’s sustainable long-term economic growth.

Malawi misses out on FDI potential - The Nation Online

Malawi misses out on FDI potential - The Nation Online: Malawi is yet to fully utilise its foreign direct investment (FDI) potential, making it one of the least attractive destinations for foreign capital, an economist has said.

University of Malawi’s Chancellor College economics professor Ben Kaluwa said this in an interview on Sunday in the context of a 2019 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) World Investment Report 2019, which has ranked Malawi as one of the countries with lowest levels of FDI in the region.

Malawi kwacha sinks to new low | The Times Group

Malawi kwacha sinks to new low | The Times Group: By Taonga Sabola:

Pressure is mounting on the country’s trading currency, the kwacha, with Malawians needing over K800 to buy the dollar from around K740 in March.

This is the first time the Malawi kwacha has sunk to a low against the dollar since it was adopted as Malawi’s trading unit.

This is despite the country being in the middle of sales of major foreign exchange earner, tobacco.

According to Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) daily foreign exchange rates, the dollar was selling at an average of K805 to the dollar in forex bureau

Tobacco rakes in $77.3 million | The Times Group

Tobacco rakes in $77.3 million | The Times Group: Earnings from tobacco, Malawi’s major forex earner, have reached $77,324,088.13 (about K58 billion), figures from regulator, Tobacco Commission (TC) show.

The revenue has been generated from sales of 54,389,889 kilogrammes (kg) of all types of tobacco within eight weeks.

Manufacturing to jump in 2019 | The Times Group

Manufacturing to jump in 2019 | The Times Group: The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says it expects strong growth in the manufacturing sector buoyed by a strong performance in the agriculture sector this year.

Overall, the central bank remains optimistic of a positive economic outlook.

RBM maintains its projection that real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth would rebound to 5.0 percent in 2019 from 4.0 percent estimated in 2018.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, however, slashed Malawi’s GDP growth to 4.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Malawi's 2019/2020 national budget set for Sept - The Maravi Post

Malawi's 2019/2020 national budget set for Sept - The Maravi Post: The 2019/2020 Budget Session of parliament� is scheduled to take place in September 2019 and not the usual June-July owing to the need to put in place new structures for the newly elected Members of Parliament (MPs).

Senior Assistant Clerk of Parliament, Joseph Manzi disclosed this Wednesday in Lilongwe during the on-going orientation of newly elected Members of Parliament.

Transport masterplan to get K69bn boost - The Nation Online

Transport masterplan to get K69bn boost - The Nation Online: Treasury plans to allocate K69.6 billion in the 2019/20 National Budget for the initial implementation phase of the 20-year Malawi National Transport Masterplan.

Ministry of Transport and Public Works spokesperson James Chakwera on Wednesday confirmed the planned allocation, saying it is divided into five-year investment plans.

Mbeya Dry Port revives hope for businesses - The Nation Online

Mbeya Dry Port revives hope for businesses - The Nation Online: The cost of imports passing through Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania is expected to ease following the operationalisation of Mbeya Dry Port in that country by the Malawi Cargo Centre Limited (MCCL).

The port’s operation will reduce the distance from Songwe on the border between Malawi and Tanzania, to Dar es Salaam Port. From Songwe to Mbeya, it is 120 kilometres (km) while from Songwe to Dar es Salaam, it is 1 000 km.

Political uncertainty takes toll on trade fair - The Nation Online

Political uncertainty takes toll on trade fair - The Nation Online: Some countries are viewing Malawi as a ‘no-go zone’ following the disputed May 21 Tripartite Elections, whose results attracted protests, mainly from the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), in some parts of the country.

The political atmosphere has forced the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) to postpone to August the 31st Malawi International Trade Fair, earlier scheduled for June 20-30 2019 after the countries that confirmed their participation withdrew, citing existence of political uncertainty.

Multiconsult to assess effects of Mpatamanga, Malawi - International Water Power

Multiconsult to assess effects of Mpatamanga, Malawi - International Water Power: Multiconsult is to carry out the technical, environmental, social due diligence and additional studies for the proposed Mpatamanga hydropower plant, located on the Shire River in Malawi, after signing an agreement with SN Power.

SN Power is participating in the early-stage development of the project as specialist developer for the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Later this year the government of Malawi will launch a competitive tender process among private developers for the project.

Mpatamanga is planned to have an installed capacity of 250-310MW, designed to provide peak load capacity.

�“Mpatamanga represents an important step towards the development of Malawi. This power plant alone will practically double the installed power generation capacity of the country. For us, it is a great honour to be involved in this milestone in the history of the nation”, said Rodrigo Suarez, Multiconsult’s project manager for the technical due diligence. “Historically, this region has been reduced to cover its energy needs through the construction of cheaper but extremely polluting power plants resulting in a negative effect on the environment. That is why part of our work is to show that this type of renewable energy at this scale can be competitive from an economic point of view and at the same time, keeping the environmental impact to a minimum, preserving the delicate and unique ecosystem existing in the country.

Treasury explains Q3 budget deficit - The Nation Online

Treasury explains Q3 budget deficit - The Nation Online: Treasury explains Q3 budget deficit
Grace Phiri June 12, 2019 0 Comment
Treasury says reduced domestic revenue collection in the third quarter (January to March) of this fiscal year ending June 30 is largely due to under-collection in some of the tax lines.

The explanation comes in the wake of widening budget deficit of K120 billion or two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, from K96.4 billion or 1.8 percent of GDP in the second quarter (October to December 2018).

Australian company eyes Lilongwe for graphite

Australian company eyes Lilongwe for graphite 
https://www.nyasatimes.com/australian-company-eyes-lilongwe-for-graphite-mining-malawi-to-earn-k110bn/
mining: Malawi to earn K 11 Obn 

June 12, 2019 

An Australian mining company is investing IJS49 million (about K36 billion) in Malingunde, Lilongwe where it wants to mine 

graphite. Juliana Stevens, general manager of the company  said the company wants to mine the graphite at 

Masambankhunda. Stevens said the Sovereign Metals Limited- has  discovered 52 000 metric tonnes which will be mined 

for a number of years. 

Tobacco prices picking up, TCC figures show - The Nation Online

Tobacco prices picking up, TCC figures show - The Nation Online: Tobacco prices are slowly picking up compared to the first days of the selling season in April, figures released by Tobacco Commission (TC) in the seventh week of the sales show.

As of last Friday, the leaf was fetching an average price of $1. 40 (about K1 033) per kilogramme (kg) compared to the first week of the sales when the average price was $1.28 (about K944) per kg.

Deficits choke 2018/19 budget - The Nation Online

Deficits choke 2018/19 budget - The Nation Online: Treasury has continued to spend more than the revenue generated in the 2018/19 fiscal year amid declining revenues, figures from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) show.

The figures show that in the third quarter (January to March 2019) of the fisal year ending June 30, budget deficit widened to K120 billlion or two percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from K96.4 billion or 1.8 percent of GDP in the second quarter (October to December 2018).

National Bank of Malawi pessimistic on 2019 GDP growth impact | The Times Group

National Bank of Malawi pessimistic on 2019 GDP growth impact | The Times Group: Malawi Stock Exchange-listed National Bank of Malawi (NBM) has said the 5.3 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimate for this year is not sufficient to reverse the country’s poverty levels.

This was said on Thursday during the bank’s 47th annual general meeting (AGM) meeting in Blantyre.

NBM Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer for conglomerate Press Corporation Limited, George Partridge, told delegates to the AGM that Malawi needed to do more in order to attain sustainable economic growth that would be able to offset the current poverty levels.

Planning Commission hints at Vision 2020 successor - The Nation Online

Planning Commission hints at Vision 2020 successor - The Nation Online: The National Planning Commission (NPC) says it is developing a new long-term national development plan and successor blue-print to the Vision 2020.

NPC director general Thomas Munthali, whose institution is mandated to formulate the medium and long-term development plans for the country and oversee their implementation, confirmed the development in an interview

Oil explorer finalises impact assessment - The Nation Online

Oil explorer finalises impact assessment - The Nation Online: RAK Gas MB 45 Limited, a gas and oil exploration firm, in collaboration with Akatswiri Consultancy and Enviro Consultancy, says it has completed an environmental impact assessment on oil exploration in Machinga, Salima and Mangochi.

The firm’s director of media and public relations Martin Kansichi said in an interview on Monday they are ready to move to the next step where they will do a seismic study.

World bank cuts growth to 4.5% - The Nation Online

World bank cuts growth to 4.5% - The Nation Online: The World Bank has slashed Malawi’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for 2019 to 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent largely due to the impact of floods that affected the country in March this year.

The revision comes six months after the bank projected a 4.7 percent growth in January while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had put Malawi’s growth projection at five percent from an earlier projection of 4.1 percent.

Egenco signs Likoma-Chizumulu 1.3MW power contract - The Nation Online

Egenco signs Likoma-Chizumulu 1.3MW power contract - The Nation Online: Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) Limited (Egenco) has signed a contract with NR Electric Company of China to design, supply, install and commission 1.3 megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power on Likoma and Chizumulu islands.

Speaking during the signing in Blantyre on Monday, the company’s chief executive officer William Liabunya said the contractor will soon start mobilising equipment to start the works.

Malawi's Escom sets ambitious power generation plan - The Maravi Post

Malawi's Escom sets ambitious power generation plan - The Maravi Post: BLATYRE-(MaraviPost)-Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has set an ambitious plan of increasing national electrification rate to 30 percent of the country’s population in the next 10 years.
In Malawi, where, reportedly, less than 12 percent of the population has access to electricity, the lack of reliable power supply is a major constraint to business and economic growth.

Rare earths: Beijing threatens a new front in the trade war | Financial Times

Rare earths: Beijing threatens a new front in the trade war | Financial Times: Nine years ago, Ian Higgins’ company in the north-west of England was jolted by bad news from Volkswagen. Prices for rare earths were rising, so Europe’s largest carmaker warned it was planning to discontinue use of all rare earth alloys in its magnets.

Mr Higgins braced for other clients to take a similar step, threatening his metal alloy maker Less Common Metals if the car industry moved away from the technology. Instead, to his relief, the scare died down.

Malawi ranked 66th safest in the world | The Times Group

Malawi ranked 66th safest in the world | The Times Group: A latest global safety survey by the Global Finance Magazine has ranked Malawi on position 66 on the list of world’s safest economies.

The revelations come at a time impoverished Malawi has engaged an extra gear in attracting foreign direct investment by, among other things, modernising its energy infrastructure and coaxing investors through investment foras.

The survey gives Malawi a score of 10.33 points just below the United States which is on position 65 with a score of 10.30 points.

Stock market bullish in elections results week | The Times Group

Stock market bullish in elections results week | The Times Group: The Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) was bullish last week as Malawians waited for and digested the results of the May 21 Tripartite Elections.

The elections saw a tight race between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) President Peter Mutharika and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera, which saw Mutharika being declared the winner.

During the week, the indicative Malawi All Share Index (Masi) gained 517.97 points, and closed at 29 246.08 points thanks to price gains in two counters.

Peermont ends hotel management deal - The Nation Online

Peermont ends hotel management deal - The Nation Online: South Africa’s Peermont Hotels Limited has terminated its 10-year management contract midway through the agreement, leaving Malawi Government with the task to identify new managers for Umodzi Park which includes Bingu International Convention Centre (Bicc).

In an interview yesterday, Umodzi Park Holdings chief executive officer Master Maliro confirmed the development, saying Peermont is not only opting out of a franchise management agreement in Malawi but with all agreements in southern African countries.

Blended investment financing lacking accountability - The Nation Online

Blended investment financing lacking accountability - The Nation Online: study report by Oxfam has found that blended financing comprising public and private donor support in agricultural development is hampered by poor quality, lack of consistency and accountability.

This is contained in the recent Oxfam report titled Accountability Deficit Finance Blending in Agriculture that assessed the effectiveness of private finance blending in ensuring that small-scale farmers are not left behind.

SAPP to prioritise Malawi, Tanzania, Angola for regional grid integration

SAPP to prioritise Malawi, Tanzania, Angola for regional grid integration: he Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) will prioritise connecting Malawi, Tanzania and Angola to the regional electricity grid by 2021, with an additional 22 000 MW of electricity generation capacity to be added to the regional grid by 2022.

The SAPP currently serves around 300-million people, with available generation capacity of 59 GW, at a consumption rate of 400 TWh, across 12 member countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, eSwatini, South Africa and Lesotho.

Tobacco revenue 35 percent down - The Nation Online

Tobacco revenue 35 percent down - The Nation Online: Tobacco revenue 35 percent down
Steve Chilundu June 3, 2019 0 Comments
Tobacco revenue has gone down by 35 percent six weeks into the 2019 Tobacco Marketing Season, figures released by Tobacco Commission (TC) showed on Friday.

The figures showed that Malawi realised $51.464 million (about K38 billion) compared to $78.948 million (about K58 billion) during same period last year representing 35 percent revenue decline.