Govt to diversify mining activities

George Simbachawene

Tanzania will soon introduce new mines to fill the gap to be left by Tulawaka and Golden Pride gold mines, which are likely to close in the next two years.

Energy and Minerals deputy minister George Simbachawene revealed this here yesterday when addressing the Tanzania Mining, Energy/Oil, Gas and Infrastructure Indaba 2012.

Without disclosing the planned gold mines, the deputy minister said production of the mineral in the country has increased from less than one tonne per annum in 1998 to over 45 tons in 2010.

“This has been possible due to the implementation of several mining policy reforms, which led to the commissioning of six large-scale gold mines in the country,” he said.

The minister noted that Tanzania is set to embark on huge investments in nickel, uranium and coal mining in the next few years.

“The idea behind this plan is to diversify the mining sector significantly,” he added.

Gold mining has dominated mineral activities since the country opened up the mining sector to foreign investors.

Tanzania has the largest untapped high-grade nickel deposits in the world.

Simbachawene encouraged potential investors to come and invest in the mining sector, which has a wide range of untapped mineral resources.

The ongoing three-day meeting gives Tanzania an opportunity to showcase a number of minerals available in the country.

“Tanzania has various investment opportunities, such as exploration and exploitation of minerals, establishment of smelters for copper and other minerals and refinery of gold, and establishment of lapidiary and tools for mineral value-addition activities,” the minister said.

It is estimated that about 90 per cent of minerals have not yet been exploited.

Simbachawene said despite the fact that the country is endowed with a number of mineral resources, the mining sector's contribution to GDP was merely 3.3per cent in 2011.

“This is still a very low contribution to our economy. The aim is to have the sector contribute about 10 per cent by 2025. In order to achieve this we need to manage well the exploitation of our mineral resources as well as commissioning more mines in future,” he said.

Mantra Tanzania/Uranium One Inc managing direrctor Asa Mwaipopo, for his part, said: “As a mining firm, we are working hard to complement the government target to make the sector contribute 10 per cent to the country’s GDP by 2025.”

He said Mantra Tanzania was determined to develop a giant uranium mine under the Mkuju River Project located in Namtumbo district.

Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME) chairman Joseph Kahama assured Tanzanians of their continuous engagement with mining investors in the country in order to ensure that they maintain a good environment for people living around mining sites in the country.

He said TCME will continue to ensure its members abide by the new mining laws and policies which require them to keep the local surroundings clean and free from any harmful hazards.

“We are committed to ensuring that the environmental impact of our activities is minimized whilst the environmental benefits are maximized,” he said.