Malawi Mining Investment Company (Mamico) has established that the country loses potential revenue in excess of $700 million (K1.2 trillion) annually through gold smuggling. Gold minersMamico’s month-long study has also established that there are 81 sites nationwide where gold mining activities are happening illegally, supported by foreign merchants who buy the mineral from artisanal small-scale miners. The continued smuggling is happening at a time the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has only bought 540 kilogrammes (kg) gold valued at $70 million (about K123 billion) since 2023, a development mining experts attribute to rampant smuggling. He said: “Gold mining in Malawi is mostly informal and small-scale so the miners sell to foreign merchants from neighbouring countries who smuggle it out. 540 kilogrammes is good, but we could have bought more if we curbed illegal mining,” he said.