"Community pleads with Malawi govt to extend Nyala’s ruby mining licence"

Members of the community in Chimwadzulu area in Ntcheu District where a local company, Nyala Mines Limited, has been mining gemstones have backed the company to continue its mining activities in the area so that they keep on benefitting from its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities...inister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining, Aggrey Masi, has written the company informing it of the government’s decision not to renew the licence mainly because Nyala sought the renewal a few days before the   expiry date which is contrary to legal requirements which stipulate that a holder of a mining licence must apply for renewal at least a year before expiry of the licence.

But the members of the community told Mining & Trade Review that the government needs to discuss with Nyala Mines as a partner in development, iron out their   differences and map out ways to continue with the project." The fact is that if Nyala leaves this place, we, the people of this area will suffer while the government officials making these decisions in the boardrooms at Capital Hill in Lilongwe continue with their opulent lives. We are saying we will suffer because the investor has employed about 50 people from this area and assist us in different ways as part of its CSR programme",said the area’s Group Village Headman Katsekera.

Nyala Mines’ CSR activities have, among other things, included repainting of Katsekela Health Centre, building a placenta disposal at the site, construction of a borehole at the hospital premises and provision of shelves for the health centers’ dispensary. The company also uses its vehicles to ferry critically ill patients to Ntcheu District Hospital. In the education sector, Nyala Mines has assisted the community with different interventions including construction of two classroom blocks, construction of four teacher houses and maintenance of two already existing houses at Kandoma Primary school, and payment of monthly salaries to 12 volunteer teachers at Kandoma and Katsekera Primary Schools.