Praise has gone to the vigilant communities in Mulanje district for stopping Akatswiri Mineral Resources, which holds a licence to mine Bauxite in Mulanje Mountain, a newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage site.
Continuation of a Big no to the proposed mine in the mountain escalated when officials from Akatswiri entered to start its mining activities in Malawi’s tallest mountain, which is considered a sacred cultural site and provides critical resources for more than 1 million people of the surrounding districts.
Environmental activist Mathews Malata says there should be no Bauxite mining on Mulanje Mountain, calling it the destruction of Malawi’s Heritage.
One of the avid mountaineers I am, and environmental educator Kondwani Chamwala says the mining company entered the mountain without notifying stakeholders, and that the last encounter with them was when they promised to come with feedback they collected from stakeholders on the rare earth exploration.
Meanwhile, Mulanje district councils have called off mining activities, stating that Akatsiwri mining company did not follow the proper procedures and have since called for a bring down the materials which they already sent up the mountain in readiness for the activity.
One of the officials from Akatswiri Mineral insisted that the company followed all the procedures.
Different sectors of people say the proposed mining activities in the mountain threaten the mountain’s ecological integrity and negatively impact tourism development.
