Dar to get 12bn/- EU grant for mineral survey

Brussels, BELGIUM: THE European Union has pledged to provide Tanzania with a four million Euros, (about 12bn/-) grant to fund surveying and research of minerals in the country.

This pledge was made during discussions between the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment), Professor Kitila Mkumbo, and the Director General of the European Union’s Department for International Partnerships, Mr Koen Doens, held recently in Brussels, Belgium.

According to a statement issued by the Embassy of Tanzania in Brussels, the research will focus primarily on critical minerals currently in high demand globally, with Tanzania being rich in these resources.

“The aid, which will be directly allocated to the government’s budget, comes at a time when the government, through the Ministry of Minerals, plans to accelerate mineral research in the country to increase the surveyed mining areas from the current 16 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030,” the statement reads in part at this high-level meeting, major mining companies from Europe met with the Tanzanian delegation to discuss the available opportunities in the country to benefit from them.

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The participation of the Tanzanian delegation in this mining meeting was part of the Tanzania-Belgium Business and Investment Forum held in Brussels on May 16 and 17, this year.

The forum brought together over 300 businessmen and investors from Tanzania and Belgium who reached various business agreements. Belgium is one of Tanzania’s key markets, being among the few developed countries where Tanzania sells more products than it buys from them.

According to Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TANTRADE), trade between Tanzania and Belgium was in favour of Tanzania for the five years from 2017 to 2021.

Tanzania exports to Belgium an average of 167.80 million US dollars per year and the main exports to Belgium include tobacco, coffee, black Tea, spices, cereals, fish, natural honey, furniture, beans, fruits and vegetables, raw hides and skins, pearls, precious or semi-precious stones.

Likewise, Tanzania imports an average of 61.98 million US dollars per year and main imports were pharmaceutical products, fertilisers, machinery, vehicles, plastics, chemical products, Mineral fuels, mineral oils, beverages, spirits and vinegar, iron, steel, aluminum, and rubber.

Additionally, there has been a significant increase in investment from Belgium, where the total value of investment from that country currently stands at 450 million Euros.

The forum was also used to showcase Tanzanian products and provide national ID services to the Tanzanian diaspora in Belgium and neighbouring areas.

Apart from the National Identification Authority, other public and private organisations had the opportunity to showcase their services to the diaspora.

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Businessman from Tanzania, led by leaders of private sector institutions including Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) and Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), some Members of Parliament, Permanent Secretaries, some heads of sectoral institutions, and other senior government and private sector leaders participated in the exhibitions. In March this year, the government outlined measures currently underway to ensure that vital and strategic minerals are beneficial to the nation.

The measures include encouraging investment in the exploration, extraction and trading of the minerals.

The government is also conducting research and marketing the available opportunities in the country’s mining industry.

In the past three years, licenses for large-scale mining of strategic minerals have been issued, including a license for large-scale mining of rare earth elements (REEs) issued to Mamba Minerals Corporation Limited (MMCL) in the Ngualla area of Songwe Region.

Tanzania is richly endowed with abundant and diverse mineral resources, including precious metals like gold, silver, platinum group elements (PGE), and gemstones such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies, tanzanite, garnets, and emeralds.

The country also possesses critical minerals like graphite, nickel, cobalt, lithium, niobium, neodymium, praseodymium, vanadium, titanium and tin.