Since the entry into force of the Mines and Minerals Act (No. 8 of 2019), foreign shareholding has not been permitted in mining companies holding the following licences: non-exclusive prospecting licence, small-scale mining licence and artisanal mining permit.
Previously, foreign shareholding were only prohibited from engaging in "non-exclusive prospecting" licensed activities. These were reserved to citizens of Malawi and legal entities wholly owned by citizens of Malawi, or in their benefit.

"2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—[...]
"mineral" means any substance, including a radioactive
mineral of any type, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form,
occurring naturally in or on the earth, formed by or subject to a
geological process, but does not include—
(a) water, not being water taken from a borehole, well, excavation or natural saltpan for the extraction there from of a substance in solution therein and of commercial value;
(b) soil which is not being taken from the earth for the extraction there from of a substance of commercial value contained therein or for the manufacture there from of a production of commercial value; or
(c) oil and gas, other than gas extracted from coal or shale deposits;[...]
"small-scale mining" means mining using non-mechanized mining methods or limited mechanized mining methods as authorized by a small-scale mining licence;
[...]
33.—(1) The following mineral tenements may be granted under this Act—
(a) non-exclusive prospecting licence, that grants the holder the non-exclusive right in the licence area, which area is defined by district boundaries, to do prospecting for all minerals;
(b) reconnaissance licence, that grants the holder the non-exclusive right in the licence area to do reconnaissance; 
(c) exploration licence, that grants the holder the exclusive right in the licence area to explore for all mineral deposits and an exclusive priority right to apply for a mining licence;
(d) retention licence, that grants the holder the right to maintain the exclusive right to apply for a mining licence in the licence area when exploration has been completed but other specified conditions preclude mining at the present time;
(e) small-scale mining licence, that grants the exclusive right to mine minerals in the licence area using only small-scale mining methods as defined in section 2;
(f) medium-scale mining licence, that grants the exclusive right to mine all minerals in the licence area provided the scale of operation does not exceed any limit specified in section 148; and
(g) large-scale mining licence, that grants the exclusive right to mine all minerals in the licence area. 
(2) An artisanal mining permit, which is not a mineral tenement for the purposes of this Act, grants the right to the holder to temporarily mine for minerals used in local construction and handicraft, subject to restrictions on the scale of operation and manner in which the minerals can be mined.
[...]
PART IV—NON-EXCLUSIVE PROSPECTING LICENCE
89.—(1) A non-exclusive prospecting licence holder shall be—
(a) an individual who is a Malawian citizen;
(b) a cooperative mining society registered pursuant to section 299;
(c) a mining partnership registered pursuant to section 299;
(d) a company registered under the Companies Act, that is one hundred per cent owned by Malawian citizens; or
(e) a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, that is one hundred per cent owned by Malawian citizens; or
(f) an association incorporated under the Trustees Incorporation Act, that comprises only Malawian citizens.
[...]
PART IX—SMALL-SCALE MINING LICENCE
184. A small-scale mining licence holder shall be—
(a) an individual who is a Malawian citizen;
(b) a mining cooperative society registered pursuant to section 299;
(c) a mining partnership registered pursuant to section 299;
(d) a company registered or incorporated under the Companies Act, that is one hundred percent (100%) owned by Malawian citizens; or
(e) an association incorporated under the Trustees Incorporation Act that comprises only Malawian citizens.
[...]
202.—(1) An artisanal mining permit holder shall be—
(a) an individual who is a Malawian citizen;
(b) a company registered under the Companies Act, that is one hundred percent owned by Malawian citizens; or
(c) a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, that is one hundred percent (100%) owned by Malawian citizens.
[...]
299.—(1) Any group comprising individual persons, each of whom is a Malawian citizen, that desire to pool their technical, financial and other resources for the purpose of prospecting or small-scale mining may apply to the Registrar to register as a cooperative mining society or mining partnership.[...]" (Mines and Minerals Act (No. 8 of 2019))
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Previously up to 2019
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"3. Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— [...]
"company" means a corporate body incorporated under the Companies Act; [...]
"corporation" means a corporate body incorporated in or outside Malawi, whether by Act or otherwise, but does not include a company;
[...]
13. Restriction on persons to whom Mineral Right may be granted
No Mineral Right—
(a) shall be granted to an individual unless he is a citizen of Malawi or has been ordinarily resident in Malawi during the period of four years immediately preceding the date on which his application for the grant of a Mineral Right is made;
(b) being a reconnaissance licence or an exclusive prospecting licence, shall be granted to a body corporate unless the body corporate is—
(i) a company; (ii) a corporation incorporated in Malawi; or (iii) a corporation (not being a corporation of a kind referred to in subparagraph (ii)) approved by the Minister; or
(c) being a mining licence, shall be granted to a body corporate unless the body corporate is—
(i) a company; or (ii) a corporation incorporated in Malawi.
[...]
[...]
73. Non-exclusive prospecting licence
(1) Subject to this section, the Commissioner may issue to any person a non-exclusive prospecting licence.
(2) Subject to subsection (5), a non-exclusive prospecting licence—
(a) shall not be issued to an individual unless he is a citizen of Malawi;
(b) shall not be issued to a company unless it is a company whose entire share capital is beneficially owned by citizens of Malawi or by a corporation which, in the opinion of the Minister, has been established for a public purpose, or partly by such citizens and partly by such a corporation;
(c) shall not be issued to a corporation unless it is a corporation incorporated in Malawi.
(3) A non-exclusive prospecting licence shall not be issued to a person unless the Commissioner is satisfied that that person intends, within the limits of his competence and resources, to undertake prospecting operations.
(4) The power to issue a non-exclusive prospecting licence is subject to the Regulations.
(5) Where the Minister is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so and so certifies to the Commissioner, the Commissioner may issue a non-exclusive prospecting licence—
(a) to an individual who is not a citizen of Malawi but who has been ordinarily resident in Malawi during the period of four years immediately preceding the date on which his application for the grant of a licence is made; or
(b) to a company or corporation other than one of a kind referred to in subsection (2) (b) or (c).
[...]
76. Pegging of claim
(1) Subject to this Act, the holder of a non-exclusive prospecting licence may peg a claim or claims in accordance with the Regulations.
[...]
77. Restriction on registration of claim
(1) A claim shall not be registered pursuant to section 76 in respect of land in which the person applying for registration of the claim is not entitled to prospect.
[...]
79. Rights and duties of holder of claim
(1) Subject to this Act and the conditions of the claim, the holder of a claim has the right to enter a claim area and the exclusive right, while the claim is registered, to prospect and mine therein, and to remove therefrom and dispose of, the minerals in respect of which the claim is registered pursuant to section 76.[...]" (Mines and Minerals Act [Chapter 61:01] of 1981, as amended)
Mines and Minerals Act (No. 8 of 2019)
Mines and Minerals Act, Chapter 61:01, 8 May 1981
[<a href="https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC199882">Act</a>],[<a href="https://malawilii.org/akn/mw/act/1981/1/eng@2014-12-31">Act</a>]