Half of Tanzania ‘to be mapped for minerals by 2030’
What you need to know:
- Currently, only 16 percent of the country’s land has been surveyed, and by identifying more mineral reserves the government is eyeing to boost revenue generated from the sector.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania plans to conduct in-depth geophysical research to cover at least 50 percent of its land by the year 2030 to identify mineral potential.
According to Minerals minister Anthony Mavunde, in the next financial year through the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST), the government will facilitate a geophysical survey of nearly 18 percent of the land.
Currently, only 16 percent of the country’s land has been surveyed, and by identifying more mineral reserves the government is eyeing to boost revenue generated from the sector.
The minister was speaking at the mining sector’s stakeholders’ forum in Arusha.
“In the next fiscal year which starts in July 2024 the parliament has approved a project to conduct an in-depth geophysical survey in two blocks with a total area of 165,574 square kilometres,” Mr Mavunde said.
“This will lead to the establishment of many large mines and significantly increase opportunities.”
Mr Mavunde said this is significant as the mining business continues to strive with last year’s data indicating minerals valued over Sh3.1 trillion were purchased at different markets and buying centres across the country.
“In 2023, minerals worth $3.55 billion were exported, accounting for 56.2 percent of the sales of non-traditional goods, compared to exports worth $3.39 billion, or 56 percent, in 2022 (approximately Sh7 trillion).
“This is the contribution that the sector made in the past fiscal year, and the mines are not even ten in number. What if we complete the thorough research? Tanzanians will have the opportunity to access various services and products and the economy will grow,” Mr Mavunde added.
Stakeholders are in Arusha for three days to discuss the opportunities and challenges regarding the participation of locals in the mining business in Tanzania.
Speaking at the event, the deputy chairperson of Parliament’s Mining and Energy Committee, Mr Kilumbe Ng’enda, said in the mineral business, local content and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are key as they serves as the social license to operate.
“The public itself grants you the license based on the relationships you have with the citizens, and as a committee, we have been emphasizing this matter and commend the government for emphasizing it,” he told the stakeholders.
Mr Ng’enda emphasised the essentiality of capacity building for local businesses including capital financing through banks, and expanding the scope of service provision to stimulate local participation in the mining business.
For his part, Minerals deputy permanent secretary Msafiri Mbibo said one of the main objectives of the Mineral Policy of 2009 is to integrate the mining sector with other economic sectors.
“In implementing this, the ministry has the responsibility to prepare, manage, and implement the mineral policy to ensure its success for the broad benefit of the country,” he said.
One of the tasks he said include to influence the participation of Tanzanians in the mineral value chain for the benefit of the nation.
In the ministerial budget speech he delivered in Parliament on April 30, Mr Mavunde also revealed that the contribution of the Mining sector to the national income for the third quarter (January to September 2023) reached 10.9 percent, compared to 9.5 percent for the same period in 2022.
