Miners’ joint venture leads to new $186m mining deal
What you need to know:
- The project is a joint venture under a partnership between Africa Underground Mining Services and the local drilling services and mining supply firm Geofields Tanzania Limited
Dar es Salaam. AngloGold Ashanti has facilitated the establishment of BG Umoja joint venture in Tanzania, which has been awarded the $186 million two-year mining contract for the Nyankanga and Geita Hill mining projects.
The company said in a statement yesterday that the project was a joint venture between Africa Underground Mining Services (AUMS) Tanzania, a subsidiary of Australia’s Perenti Group, and local drilling services and mining-supply company, Geofields Tanzania Limited in which the former owns an 80 percent stake
The partnership is modelled on a similar underground mining joint venture at the Obuasi Redevelopment Project in Ghana between AUMS Ghana and Accra-based, wholly Ghanaian-owned Rocksure and will help build local specialised mining capacity.
AngloGold Ashanti’s chief Operations officer for Africa Sicelo Ntuli said: “We’re working with our experienced mining contractors to assist in establishing local joint ventures for long-term transfer of sustainable skills, and to continue building on our sustainable local procurement programmes.
“AngloGold Ashanti is building sustainable local procurement programmes that will allow it to stimulate economic and social development at all of its operations, evidenced by the significant contribution Geita has made to the fiscus and people of Tanzania,” he said.
He added that, AngloGold Ashanti’s annual expenditure with indigenous Tanzanian suppliers have almost tripled to $162 million since 2016. The company’s local team in Tanzania has set itself an ambitious target of 60 to 70 percent of all expenditures with indigenous Tanzanian companies by 2025.
In addition, he said, AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita Gold Mine has awarded a two-year fuel transportation contract, worth about $10.8 million a year, to two local contractors.
Both have a presence in Geita town and participate in social initiatives aimed at uplifting the lives of host community residents.
“The Geita based company is one of those that were enrolled under the capacity building initiative for host community suppliers implemented in partnership between the Mine and the National Economic Empowerment Council (NEEC) to enhance the capacity of Geita suppliers to effectively compete in the Mines supply chain.
“To influence Scope 3 emissions, trucks are to be compliant with Euro IV emissions standards, tankers are to be made of an aluminium alloy material to reduce weight, and the age of the fleet will be maintained at less than six years,” he said.
“The contractors already employ women fuel tanker drivers to meet the mine’s requirements for diversity and inclusion. The two contractors both own workshop facilities in Geita town and participate in social initiatives aimed at uplifting the lives of a host of community residents,” he said.
