THE mining sector churned out 8.3tri/- from direct mineral sales during the past one year under President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s sixth-phase government.
The Minister for Minerals, Dr Doto Biteko made the revelation when highlighting achievements recorded in President Samia’s first year in office. Dr Biteko said the money was from direct sales of various minerals including gold, silver, copper, coal, graphite as well as construction and industrial minerals. Out of the total earnings in the mineral market, 597.5bn/- went to the government coffers.
“Local content in the mining sector has also been effectively implemented, with the participation of Tanzanians rising from 48 to 63 per cent, thus raising the total value of services in the mining sector to 1.33tr/-,” he noted.
To increase revenue collection, the ministry opted to use electronic payment for levies on industrial and construction minerals by engaging the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government) which manages the payments.
Moreover, Dr Biteko said contribution of the mining sector to the national economy has been increasing, saying in the period of July to September last year, it went up to 7.9 per cent compared to 7.3 per cent in the same period in 2020.
He was optimistic that the target of reaching 10 per cent target contribution come 2025 may be realized ahead of time, going by the high pace of growth. Minister expressed President Samia’s commitment to enhance growth and capability of small-scale miners so that they fully participate in the mining industry and economic empowerment.
To enforce the president’s directives, they made amendments to some law clauses and as a result the small scale miners now contribute 30 per cent of the revenue generated in the sector compared to four percent before amendments.
“President Samia wants to see the artisan and small-scale miners benefit from the mineral resources that the country is blessed with by empowering them economically,” said Dr Biteko In controlling smuggling and maintaining mineral markets, the government has initiated 44 mineral markets and 70 sales centres countrywide so that they can trade transparently and fairly.
In the past one year, he said, the number of licenses issued increased, issuing licenses to 8,172 miners including 5,937 primary mining licenses, 282-prospecting licenses, 5-mining licenses and 2-special mining licenses.
Others were 49-processing licenses, 2-refinery licenses, 1,531-broker licenses and 364-dealer licenses compared to 6,334 licenses issued in the corresponding period in the previous year.
Minister Biteko outlined more achievements, saying in one year of President Samia, the government set a record by signing at once four special mining license contracts worth 735.79 US dollars. The deals are for mining graphite, gold, diamonds and sand minerals along the coast. Furthermore, the State Mining Company (STAMICO) has undergone a huge transformation.
Following initiatives by the government, STAMICO has now reduced dependence on the government to operate, its dependence reduced from 100 per cent to only 13 percent.
“STAMICO has started production of gold at Buckreef gold mining in Geita and managed to pay a dividend to the government,” he stated.