SMALL-scale miners at Magambazi Gold Mine in
Handeni District are accused of wanton felling of trees to get firewood
with which to heat fuel for rock smelting purposes. (File photo)
TENSION is high at Magambazi in Handeni District, Tanga Region where small scale miners have refused to vacate a gold mine which was recently acquired by a Tanzanian registered Canadian firm, Canaco Tanzania Limited. Chaby Barasa visited the area recently and reports..
As the saga drags on, Canaco says the district could be losing between 250 million and 400 million shillings which the firm was to pay as service levy per annum.
Financial implications at national level are also colossal as estimates by Canaco indicate that between 800m/- and 1bn/- in various taxes and loyalties were being lost monthly.
Mr. Denis Dillip, the Canaco President cuts a frustrated figure as he painstakingly narrates his company's takeover process and how much he would like to see the end to the saga.
He says the company, after protracted negotiations, legally acquired the licence to operate the mine from 34 small scale miners, operating under Magambazi Mines Company Limited who were the rightful owners of the area since 2004, and whose licence, as per the Mining Act 2010 later had to be converted from a Primary to a Mining Licence, when Canaco took over more than five years ago, a process that was finalized in 2012, with the mining licence now being held by newly formed company, Denwill Mining Services Limited.
"We should be busy on site now and with all the equipment mobilized," observes Mr. Dillip, noting that for the time being there is nothing the company can do except to wait and see as the matter is pending in court, where Canaco had to file a suit last year, seeking an eviction order.
Mr. Dillip also observed that Canaco were concerned with ongoing haphazard use of dynamite by the artisanal miners, saying the action was destabilizing rocks, and could pose serious danger once the company started mining in the area. He claims that Canaco handsomely compensated the 34 original owners of the Primary Mining Licence (PML) and agreed that the latter, through their company, would have a two per cent shareholding in the mining firm.
TENSION is high at Magambazi in Handeni District, Tanga Region where small scale miners have refused to vacate a gold mine which was recently acquired by a Tanzanian registered Canadian firm, Canaco Tanzania Limited. Chaby Barasa visited the area recently and reports..
As the saga drags on, Canaco says the district could be losing between 250 million and 400 million shillings which the firm was to pay as service levy per annum.
Financial implications at national level are also colossal as estimates by Canaco indicate that between 800m/- and 1bn/- in various taxes and loyalties were being lost monthly.
Mr. Denis Dillip, the Canaco President cuts a frustrated figure as he painstakingly narrates his company's takeover process and how much he would like to see the end to the saga.
He says the company, after protracted negotiations, legally acquired the licence to operate the mine from 34 small scale miners, operating under Magambazi Mines Company Limited who were the rightful owners of the area since 2004, and whose licence, as per the Mining Act 2010 later had to be converted from a Primary to a Mining Licence, when Canaco took over more than five years ago, a process that was finalized in 2012, with the mining licence now being held by newly formed company, Denwill Mining Services Limited.
"We should be busy on site now and with all the equipment mobilized," observes Mr. Dillip, noting that for the time being there is nothing the company can do except to wait and see as the matter is pending in court, where Canaco had to file a suit last year, seeking an eviction order.
Mr. Dillip also observed that Canaco were concerned with ongoing haphazard use of dynamite by the artisanal miners, saying the action was destabilizing rocks, and could pose serious danger once the company started mining in the area. He claims that Canaco handsomely compensated the 34 original owners of the Primary Mining Licence (PML) and agreed that the latter, through their company, would have a two per cent shareholding in the mining firm.
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