The growth of the industry will be mainly buoyed by increased investment in the production of coal, uranium and nickel — three sub sectors the government sees as potential big income earners.
The Tanzania Mining Report in the Business Monitor International magazine said increased gold production and large-scale commercial uranium mining would also drive this growth.
Tanzania is Africa’s third largest gold producer after Ghana and South Africa but also has reserves of diamonds, uranium, nickel and coal.
“Coal is set to become one of the fastest-growing mining sectors in Tanzania as the country looks to coal-fired power to offset an energy shortage that is holding back development,” the report said.
Tanzania’s coal fired generation of power is set for a significant boost after a joint venture between the government and a private company, Tancoal Energy.
Mineral resources
“We have hit intended targets and there are 400 million metric tonnes of coal in the Ngaka basin, which is a big resource base,” said Peter Tsegas, managing director of Tancoal.
Earnings from gold exports jumped by 62 per cent in the year to July 2010 to $1.36 billion, while volumes rose by 31 per cent to 38.1 tonnes, according to the country’s central bank.
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