Govt investigates over 190 Geita mineral licences

GEITA: MINISTER for Minerals, Mr Anthony Mavunde has directed Mbogwe Zonal Mining Office to conduct an investigation into 191 Prospecting Licences (PL) that have remained undeveloped for an extended period.

Mr Mavunde issued the directive recently in Nyang’hwale District, Geita Region, during a ceremony to issue licenses to small-scale miner groups at Nyijundu Village.

He said that before the investigation begins, Mbogwe Zonal Mining Office must submit a preliminary report to his office by tomorrow, detailing the licence owners and the progress made in developing the areas.

“What are these 191 licences in Geita doing here? Until today, the Mbogwe mining zone has no large-scale mining. What exactly is their exploration for? This habit of holding vast areas without development must end,” he said.

The minister stressed that the revocation of idle licences is ongoing and warned that all Tanzanians holding either Prospecting Licences (PL) or Primary Mining Licences (PML) without making meaningful investments would face action.

“It is unacceptable for one person to sit on large areas. And, if anyone disturbs small-scale miners, that will not be tolerated,” he added.

“When we issue a PL, you must work on it within the required time and eventually establish a medium- or large-scale mine. That is the very purpose of a prospecting licence,” Mr Mavunde explained.

He cautioned licence holders who continue waiting for investors while failing to comply with the terms and conditions of their licences to prepare for investigations aimed at revoking non-compliant licences.

ALSO READ: Geita ready for 600 at the fifth Geita Mineral Exhibition

The Mbogwe Zonal Mining Officer, Mr Jeremiah Hango, said that besides the 191 PLs under scrutiny, the zone has issued 1,973 small-scale mining licences.

Mr Hango acknowledged that many areas are being held by individuals who have failed to develop them, including the 191 PLs now under investigation.

“We urge that, in this ongoing exercise, areas whose owners have failed to develop them should be reallocated to committed smallscale miners,” he said.

The Secretary of the Geita Small-Scale Miners Association (GEREMA), Mr Misana Nyabange, said undeveloped PLs are a major source of conflict between small-scale miners and investors.

The Chairman of Tanzania Youth in Mining (TYM), Mr Khamis Mohamed, called for regulations requiring investors to prioritise youth who discover minerals through traditional methods.

He noted a recurring problem where licence owners use security officers to evict small-scale miners, especially youth after they discover minerals, a practice he said must end to ensure communities benefit.