Mkango Releases Second Quarter 2020 Results and Provides Update on Malawi Government Visit to the Songwe Hills Rare Earths Project Site

LONDON and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mkango Resources Ltd. (AIM/TSX-V: MKA) (the "Company" or "Mkango") is pleased to announce that it has released the Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ending June 30, 2020. The reports are available under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Company's website (http://www.mkango.ca/s/financials.asp).

Mkango is also pleased to report that the Minister of Mining, the Right Hon. Rashid Gaffar MP, visited the Songwe Hills (“Songwe”) rare earths project on Friday 21^st August, accompanied by a government delegation including the Ministry of Mines principal secretary, Dr Joseph Mkandawire. The government delegation expressed satisfaction with all of the exploration and development works at Songwe.

Hon. Minister Gaffar MP said: “I am impressed with the progress of the project, as well as the project’s level of transparency and all of the Corporate Social Responsibility taking place. You are doing a commendable job; people here are full of praise for your work. We understand you have invested a lot in this project, therefore as Government, my Ministry will support you so that the future mining operation commences.”

Principal secretary Dr Joseph Mkandawire added: “Mining is the future of this country, especially when we follow the trend where countries are advocating for use of clean energy. High strength rare earth magnets which will be made from the Songwe rare earths can be used to manufacture electric motors, which are used in hybrid and electric cars, as well as wind turbines to produce clean energy. Currently, the mining industry in Malawi only contributes approximately 1 percent to the national budget, but we want to support the mining industry fully in Malawi, to enable the industry to generate a lot of revenue and profits, so that it can benefit the country and its investors, and we can all benefit from the country’s resources.”

Mkango looks forward to working with the Government of Malawi to bring Songwe into production and to advance our other projects in the country.

About Mkango

Mkango's primary business is exploration for rare earth elements and associated minerals in the Republic of Malawi, a country whose hospitable people have earned it a reputation as “the warm heart of Africa”. The Company holds interests in four exclusive prospecting licenses in Malawi: the Phalombe licence, the Thambani licence, the Chimimbe Hill licence and the Mchinji licence.

The main exploration target in the 51% held Phalombe licence is the Songwe Hill rare earths deposit. This features carbonatite-hosted rare earth mineralisation and was subject to previous exploration in the late 1980s. Mkango completed an updated Pre-Feasibility Study for the project in November 2015 and a Feasibility Study is currently underway, the initial phases of which included a 10,900-metre drilling programme and an updated mineral resource estimate, announced in February 2019. In March 2019, the Company announced receipt of a £7 million (C$12.3 million) investment from Talaxis to fund completion of the Feasibility Study. Following completion of the Feasibility Study, Talaxis has an option to acquire a further 26% interest in Songwe by arranging financing for project development including funding the equity component thereof.

The main exploration targets in Mkango’s remaining three 100% held licences are, in the Thambani licence, uranium, niobium, tantalum and zircon, in the Chimimbe Hill licence, nickel and cobalt, and in the Mchinji licence, rutile, gold, nickel, cobalt, base metals and graphite.

Mkango also holds a 75.5% interest in Maginito with the balance owned by Talaxis. Maginito is focused on downstream opportunities relating to the rare earths supply chain, in particular, recycling and other innovative technologies for the production of neodymium alloy powders and magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and other industries geared to decarbonisation of the economy.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any equity or other securities of the Company in the United States. The securities of the Company will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold within the United States to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.