Govt starts negotiations with Tanzanite investor

Dar es Salaam. The committee formed by President John Magufuli to probe the Tanzanite business has started negotiations with TanzaniteOne, the State House said in a statement released Wednesday January 17.

The statement quoted the committee chairman who doubles as the Minister for Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, as saying that that actual negotiations started on January 16, 2018.

The negotiations seek to ensure that the mining of Tanzanite in Tanzania is conducted in such a way that benefits the country and its people.

 “The negotiations have started well. The two sides are now going through all the challenges associated with Tanzanite business and implementation of laws and regulations governing the business with a view to ensuring that ultimately, a consensus is reached on how Tanzania can benefit effectively from its natural resources,” the statement quoted Prof Kabudi as saying.

One of the directors for Sky Associates Limited which owns Tanzanite One Mining Ltd, Mr Faisal Juma Shahbhai was quoted in the State House statement as saying that his company was ready for negotiations, noting that it will cooperate with the government in the endeavour to ensure that Tanzania gets a fare share of Tanzanite which is mined only in the country.