LILONGWE, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Malawi will resume uranium mine operations in June this year after over 10 years since the mine was closed due to low global prices, Minister of Mining Kenneth Zikhale Ng'oma said.
The minister made the announcement after meeting officials of the Australian mining company, Lotus Africa Limited, in the capital of Lilongwe on Wednesday.
The Malawian government is a minority shareholder of the uranium mine with 15 percent, while the company owns 85 percent of the mine.
Lotus has been working on the reopening of the Kayelekera Uranium Mine in the northern border district of Karonga after acquiring it from Paladin Africa Limited, and it was given a mining license in 2024.
In a statement, Lotus Managing Director Greg Bittar was quoted as saying that the company was on the right track to resume mining operations.
"Operations will resume in June 2025 with the first product expected one or two months after the resumption of the operations," he was quoted in the statement released by the minister.
The company said the Kayelekera project, located near the border with Tanzania, hosts a current resource of 51.1 million pounds (about 23,179 tonnes) of uranium. ■