Why Tanzania can be critical minerals hub

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is positioning itself as a continental hub for critical minerals, according to Mining permanent secretary Kheri Mahimbali.

He made the remark during an exclusive interview with The Citizen recently.

Mr Mahimbali said the ministry is implementing its Vision 2030, which banks on high-resolution airborne geophysical surveys undertaken by the Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST) to map out the country’s mineral capacity and also offer reliable data.

The vision involves the extension, development and enhancement of not only critical or strategic minerals, but also the exploration of various kinds of minerals found in Tanzania.

“Today, data is like currency. These surveys will help us better cooperate with small, mid-sized and big miners and development partners,” Mr Mahimbali said.

He revealed that Tanzania is working closely with the British Geological Survey to help improve local capacity and also look at areas of collaboration with the British government and investors.

Due to the abundance of critical minerals in the country, the nationwide survey will help the government have detailed profiles of various areas and invite investors who can extract minerals from a specific location.

“We invite large investors who can extract minerals that are found deep underground, places that other miners have difficulty reaching,” Mr Mahimbali said, adding that miners with limited capability are allocated extraction grounds based on their capacity.

On extraction and processing of critical minerals, the PS said Tanzania has an abundance of rare minerals such as nickel, cobalt, graphite, and zinc but cannot process them locally.

“We are now trying to see how we can work with development partners to establish industries here in Tanzania or Africa that will enable us to add value to these minerals and bring about in-continent capacity and beneficiation,” Mr Mahimbali said, adding that these critical minerals are important in the manufacturing of security equipment and energy generation.

“We want Tanzania to become a hub for critical minerals in Africa.”

Mr Mahimbali emphasised that the approach right now is to collaborate with others to ensure that Tanzania and Africa realise their mining potential. “We can’t achieve this on our own; we are ready to work with other partners and countries to achieve this goal,” he said and added that, as a country, Tanzania is looking at this from a bigger perspective.

“We are approaching this with a continental view, not just a domestic approach.”

The government’s view is to expand Tanzania’s influence and reach and this includes ensuring that global technology is brought home to benefit locals while also giving Tanzania the ability to serve other African countries and become a key global player.

When US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Tanzania earlier this year, she addressed the issue of Tanzania’s dream of becoming a hub for critical minerals.

“Ms Harris said the US wants to help Tanzania develop Kabanga Nickel and establish a plant in Kahama that will have the capacity to process all critical minerals,” Mr Mahimbali said, adding that the preparations have already started and that Minerals minister Anthony Mavunde is set to visit the project site.

“Once completed, Kabanga will be able to produce nickel-ready batteries, ready for plug and play. It will be exported ready for use.”

Mr Mahimbali explained that the Kabanga project is not the only one that is being implemented by the government, which is working with other partners.

“There are several other important projects that we will execute in our endeavour to build capacity for optimizing the availability of critical minerals in Tanzania.”

But these big ambitions are contingent on creating a good environment for investors. In this endeavour, the PS said that the ministry’s growth strategy is anchored around making the sector stable, predictable and bankable.

“Today, before we change any rules and regulations, we have to consult. We started the mining breakfast meeting, where we hold quarterly meetings with stakeholders and investors to try and see what challenges they are facing and how we can resolve them,” Mr Mahimbali said.

He added that another thing that the government tries to ensure is that mining laws are investor-friendly. “We want an investor to look at Tanzania as the top priority in mining investment.”

 According to him, the government is improving the sector from a policy and tax regime level.

“We look at royalty, deductibility, Section 56, and other tax legacy issues,” the PS said.