Paladin Energy Limited says the review process of the Mines and Minerals Act has delayed the provision of another exploration licence as the company seeks to expand its designated mining territory in Karonga.
The company has also applied at the Department of Mines for a clearance to release treated water previously used in the mining process of uranium from the Kayerekera Mine.
In its latest operational update for December signed by the Interim Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Molyneux, Paladin says the Kayerekera Mine is still under the care and maintenance awaiting the pickup of prices on the international market.
“Government of Malawi Parliamentary approval of, and the introduction of the new mining Act in Malawi is still ongoing, as a consequence the Malawi Mines Department has delayed the issue of all licenses until a new cadastral system has been introduced and all overlapping tenure issues have been resolved,” Molyneux said in the report.
He further said, however, that the company expects the process to be completed in the first half of this year, after which his company could possibly acquire the license.
He said the company continues to monitor the situation and liaise with the department of mines to ensure that the introduction of the new legislation goes as smoothly as possible.
However, the company said exploration in the current designated area continued in the December quarter using the surface geophysical surveys, stream sediment sampling and geological mapping that were previously started in areas around the Kayerekera mine.
“Analysis of the data obtained to date on these studies is ongoing,” says the company in the statement.
Data from the geophysical survey that government carried out with support from the World Bank shows that there is a large uranium deposits belt part of which is the Kayerekera site, giving more hope to the company of more mining years beyond the current site.
The comp any closed Kayerekera Mine citing low uranium prices which have not improved to date and indicated that the mine will be opened when the prices reach at least US$60 per pound- the company sold the yellow cake at an average price of US$37.9 per pound.
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