DAR ES SALAAM: THE US government has expressed interest in partnering with Tanzania to conduct further research to identify new areas with mineral potential.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the Middle East in the Office of International Affairs at the US Department of Energy, Joshua Volz made the remarks when he met and held talks with Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for Minerals, Dr Steven Kiruswa in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Mr Volz was accompanied by senior officials from the US Department of Energy and senior officials from the US Embassy in Tanzania. Volz said that the aim of their visit to Tanzania is to see how his government can cooperate with Tanzania in production of strategic minerals in order to support the production of clean energy to reduce environmental degradation.
He said that the world is currently in great need of strategic minerals and that the US government is a major player in production and research of the minerals in order to reduce the production of carbon-emitting energy.
For his part, Dr Kiruswa said that Tanzania is appropriate and a safe destination for investment, especially in the mining sector.
He informed the delegation that the government is ready to protect investors in order to enhance efficiency in the country’s development.
He noted that to date, Tanzania has conducted high resolution airborne geophysical survey by 16 per cent, noting that there is also need for conducting further studies in order to broaden the scope of more areas which will lead to the opening up of new mining projects.
Dr Kiruswa also said that the government through the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) is empowering small scale miners by providing them with training and support their research in order to increase efficiency in their activities.
In October last year, President Samia Suluhu Hassan tasked the Ministry of Minerals to capitalise on High Resolution Airborne Geographical Survey in order to precisely detect the potentiality of minerals.
According to experts, airborne geophysical surveys are performed with the aid of fixed-wing aircrafts or helicopters. These measurements can show different properties of the bedrock or soils, from ground level down to several kilometres’ depth, depending on the method used.
The Head of State said the survey is a milestone as it will hike revenues obtained from the mining sector, thus reducing national budget deficit, donor dependence as well as cutting down loans appetite.
“I believe after the confirmation of minerals reserve, small scale miners are going to individually benefit as well as contribute to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” she said.
According to the Minister for Minerals, Anthony Mavunde, only 16per cent of the entire country’s land had so far been surveyed, and that with current minerals in Tanzania, his ministry collected 678bn/- in revenues during the 2022/23 financial year.
“Just imagine, we managed to collect that amount with only a portion of 16 per cent of the land, this means if we intensify Geophysical Airborne Survey, we will hike our economy through the sector as well as improving the lives of miners,” he said.
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