Graphite can play a key role in economic growth

What you need to know:

However, recent news that the first batch of samples from the Mahenge graphite project in Morogoro Region were shipped to Canada for laboratory test raises hopes that graphite may boost the sector’s contribution to the economy.

Although Tanzania is rich in assorted minerals, the county’s mining industry is still dominated by gold. This is largely because many of the other minerals are not yet developed in full – or at all.

However, recent news that the first batch of samples from the Mahenge graphite project in Morogoro Region were shipped to Canada for laboratory test raises hopes that graphite may boost the sector’s contribution to the economy.

In 2016, mining and quarrying accounted for 4.8 per cent of Tanzania’s gross domestic product.

In chemical language, graphite is the only non-metal element that is a good conductor of electricity. Natural graphite is used mostly in refractory applications. Graphite is used in the manufacture of car batteries, computer chips and telephony handsets.

In recent years, Tanzania experienced changes in exploration trends, with companies taking up graphite projects, especially after world gold prices fell.

Thus Epanko, Chilalo, Lindi Jumbo, Namangale, Mahenge and Nachu are among graphite projects at different development stages in Tanzania.

As Black Rock Mining is sending graphite samples from its Mahenge project for testing, other projects are also bringing hope to stakeholders following lab test confirmation on the presence of quality resources.

Early last year, Australian graphite developer Kibaran Resources announced that industrial-scale tests had confirmed the excellent suitability for use in lithium-ion batteries of the graphite produced from its Epanko project in Tanzania.

In the same year, another Australian mining company, Volt Resources, announced that an independent German metallurgical laboratory had confirmed the presence of high-quality graphite concentrate from its Namangale project.

All these are important, positive developments – ample testimony that Tanzania’s graphite mining is more than promising.

Thus, graphite will soon augment gold, diamonds and tanzanite in boosting the mining sector’s contribution to Tanzania’s economy.