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Our Project.

STRATEGIC LOCATION

Our project is located around the western and northern shores of Lake Chilwa in Southern Malawi.

Malawi is known as "The Warm Heart of Africa".  It is a landlocked country in southeasten Africa famed for the warmth and kindness of its people. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozabique to the east, southeast and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 m2 (45,747sq m) and has an estimated population of ~20.5 million (2024).

Malawi is an underexplored country with a stable regime and an emerging mining destination with a supportive Government and a newly developed infrastructure network. 
In February 2024, a Presidential 'State of the Nation' address was made, prioritising Agriculture, Tourism and Mining ( ATM) as their key focus sectors. 
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Malawi Map
Surrounding Mining Operations Map

EXISTING OPERATIONS

Our Project is located amongst several significant mining operations such as:

  • LINDIAN RESOURCES | Kangankunde REE with an inferred Resource 261Mt at 2.19% TREO for 5.7Mt TREO

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  • MKANGO RESOURCES | Songwe Hill REE with a total M&I Resources 21.03Mt at 1.41% TREO for 297.4kt TREO

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  • SOVEREIGN METALS  | Kasiya Rutile-Graphite with a mineral Resource of 1.8Bt at 1.0% rutile and 1.4% graphite for 17.9Mt contained rutile and 24.4Mt contained graphite​

GEOLOGY

Malawi geology is dominated by the East African Rift with Lake Chilwa the most southern major lake associated with the rift valley. 

Lake Chilwa was formed in a depression created at the base of the back-slope of a listric fault that is part of the rift system. It is bordered in the east by the Shire Highlands (in Mozambique), in the north by the Mongolwe, Chaone and Chikala Hills and the west by the Malosa and Zomba mountains.

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Geologically, the Lake Chilwa area is described as a structurally controlled endorheic basin, that is, a basin that does not drain into the sea. The sediments that have been deposited in the basin have been derived from the surrounding catchment area. A significant component of the geology, which forms the catchment, comprise in the south (carbonatite with REE enrichment), west (monazite enrichment) and east (lithium-bearing (LCT) pegmatites.  As this geology is eroded, it accumulates within the depositional system as either fluvial, fluvio-deltaic, littoral, lacustrine or aeolian deposits.

 

The depositional environment often contributes to the selective accumulation of detrital minerals with specific mineralogical characteristics (natural concentration/placer deposits). Erosion of the hinterland was the source of the current Heavy Mineral Sands (HMS) mineralisation that Chilwa is currently exploring, however the company would like to determine if there is any potential for other mineralisation types occurring in the earlier depositional history of the basin.  

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Project benefits from access to rail, port and supporting infrastructure with a pit-to-port solution for exporting products to global markets.

The Project benefits from the potential to utilise the Nacala rail link with final products transported circa 700km from Liwonde to the Nacala Deep Water Port for export.


This established rail and port infrastructure is key to the prospects for economic development of the Project which minimises the requirement for significant capital expenditure.

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The railway line from Liwonde to Nacala has been upgraded and is used to transport coal from Moatize, in Tete province to the new coal terminal at Nacala.

  • The rail is accessible from Zomba via the M3 which is tarred or via route S131 which is a gravel road that runs west of Lake Chilwa and passes through Domasi and Chibwana.

  • Malawi is a stable and an emerging mining jurisdiction, with a supportive government for mineral extraction.

  • Malawi’s long-term goal is to increase the mineral sector’s contribution to GDP over the coming years.

  • Minerals with economic potential include: Phosphates (apatite), Bauxite, Kaolinitic, Coal, Kyanite, Limestones, Rare Earth (including Strontianite and Monazite), Graphite, Sulphides (Pyrite and Pyrrhotite), Titanium minerals along the Lakeshore, and Vermiculite.

  • Chilwa Minerals’ project partner, Mota-Engil, has a deep and long-standing relationship with Malawi government officials and the local communities.

  • Mota-Engil currently has substantial active EPC / infrastructure operations in Malawi and is capable of providing development finance for the Project as well as managing the Project operations in the future.

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