The Department of Geological Survey is in the Ministry of Mines, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs. Malawi has a vast range of geological/mineral  resources that they can tremendously contribute to poverty reduction and growth and prosperity. The Department of Geological Survey has a number of objectives while it is working towards its vision according to it mission.

The Vision
To be a dynamic institution of excellence that is innovative, self-motivated, development oriented and responsive to the clients’ needs for geosciences information and services

The Mission
To acquire, monitor, update, archive and disseminate all geo-scientific information of Malawi in order to contribute to socio-economic development and poverty reduction through the utilization and management of natural resources.

Objectives

• To map the geology of the country and identify the main structural features.
• To identify and document the location of mineral deposits in the country for exploitation by the private sector.
• To maintain a mineral resource database for Malawi.
• To provide advisory and other relevant services to the general public, other government institutions and private sector on geological matters which include geo-technical studies for major engineering projects; and monitoring and analyzing earthquake occurrences throughout the country.
• To map and document past and present geological hazards for proper land use and planning.
• To conduct research and promote the utilization of indigenous mineral resources particularly industrial minerals

A Summary of Geology and Mineral Resources in Malawi

A Paper by Z. Dulanya

INTRODUCTION
Malawi lies between 33°E and 36°E longitude and between latitudes 9°S and 17°S within the great East African Rift Valley that stretches from Ethiopia.

GEOLOGY
The geology is dominated by crystalline Precambrian to Lower Palaeozoic rocks that have been affected by the polycyclic Mozambique orogeny (700 – 400my; Carter and Bennett, 1973) and generally referred to as the Basement Complex (Carter and Bennet, 1973). Pelitic to semi-pelitic rocks including banded hornblende-biotite gneisses with intercalations of marbles, calc-silicate gneisses, quartzites and mica schists cover much of the country. Two-pyroxene granulites and gneisses also known as charnockites make a good proportion of the geology in the south of the country. These rocks have been metamophosed under amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism. Granitoid orthogneisses and basic and ultrabasic rocks are scattered throughout the country rocks.

Sedimentary and subordinate volcanic rocks such as basalts and dolerites of Permo-Triassic to Quartenary overlie unconformably the Basement Complex rocks together with intrusive rocks of Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous which are ascribed to the Chilwa Alkaline Province. The Chilwa series includes syenites, nepheline syenites, carbonatites and agglomerates, solvsbergites, trachytes and phonolites.

Large parts around the major drainage systems such as the Lake Malawi and the Shire River, the Lilongwe, Kasungu and Mzimba plains are overlain by superficial deposits.

The structural and metamorphic history of the country is complicated. A number of orogenies such as the Ubendian (2200 – 1900 my), the Irumide (~1350 – 1000 my) and the Mozambican are known to have affected the country the first two being restricted to the northen part of the country. Faulting which is mostly related to the rifting has played a greater part in the post-orogenic development of the country.

MINERAL POTENTIAL
With such variety of rocks, a number of minerals are known to occur. At the time of writing this manuscript (January, 2002), detailed information on most of these minerals is lacking and much is known about the geological evolution of the Malawi basement complex which was not the case in the past. Re-evaluation work on some of the known minerals has or might render some of these prospects workable under the present economic conditions. For example gypsum which was known to occur as an occurrence exists in abundance for exploitaion. Carter and Bennett (1973) categorized the minerals into three groups the first group being deposits with highest exploitation potential and the third group with the least potential. Such categorization is maintained here for clarification and classification purposes only. Some work has been done on some of the Group I and II minerals.

Group I Minerals
These include phosphates (apatite), bauxite, kaolinitic clays, coal, kyanite, limestones, rare earths (including strontianite and monazite), graphite, sulphides (pyrite and pyrrhotite), titanium minerals, vermiculite, and uranium minerals.

Group II Minerals
Barytes, Chromite, Copper, Corundum (includes the gem varieties), Fluorite, , Mica, Nepheline Syenite, Niobium, Gypsum, Iron Ore, Talc, gemstones (agates, garnets, aquamarine, aegerine, smoky quartz, etc) and Ornamental or dimension stones (sodalite and amazonite among others).

Group III Minerals
This group includes mostly mineral occurrences and very little to no work has been done to assess their viability for exploitation.

Known occurrences include Asbestos, Beryl, Diatomite, Galena, Gold, Magnesite, Manganese minerals, Molybdenite, Nickel minerals, Platinoids, Semi-precious and Tantalum minerals, Zinc Minerals and Zircon.

Department of Geological Surveys, P.O. Box 27, Zomba, Malawi.

Tel: (265) 1 524 166, 524 670

Fax: (265) 1 524 716