Govt fetches 521bn/- from minerals in six months
DODOMA: THE Ministry of Minerals has collected 521bn/- between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024, achieving 52.2 per cent of its 1tri/- revenue target for the 2024/25 fiscal year.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Minerals, Mr Anthony Mavunde in Dodoma yesterday, during his presentation of the ministry’s progress report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy and Minerals.
Minister Mavunde attributed the achievement to strengthened management, rigorous oversight and professionalism in revenue collection.
“This accomplishment marks significant progress compared to the 2015/16 fiscal year, when the Ministry collected only 161bn/- for the entire year,” he said.
He added that the mining sector continues to thrive, with gold royalties contributing 400.22bn/- during the same period.
Mr Mavunde also revealed that large and medium-scale mining licences that remain undeveloped will be reclaimed by the government and transferred to the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) for productive use.
STAMICO has intensified efforts to position Tanzania as a key global player in the graphite market. The corporation will support salt farmers by establishing a state-of-the-art salt processing plant in Lindi Region, with construction scheduled to begin next month.
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The plant is expected to boost farmers’ income and enhance the salt market. To stabilise the foreign exchange market and strengthen the Tanzanian shilling, the Minister announced that the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) has purchased 2.6 tonnes of locally mined and refined gold.
“The purchase, valued at over 570bn/-, follows a government directive issued on October 1st, last year, requiring miners and gold traders to allocate 20 per cent of their gold production to the BoT,” he said.
Minister Mavunde explained that on October 1st last year, the Mining Commission issued a directive requiring miners and gold traders to comply with Section 59 of the Mining Act, Cap. 123, which mandates reserving 20 per cent of their gold for sale to the BoT through authorised refineries.
This initiative is part of the government’s strategy to position Tanzania among Africa’s top ten countries with significant gold reserves, Mr Mavunde added.
