BY GEOFFREY NANGAI
TANZANIA’S mining sector is set to grow with the commencement of uranium at the Mkuju river area in Ruvuma in Southern Tanzania at the end of 2012.
The area that covers 54,600-square kilometers in the Selous Game Reserve has a mineable ore reserve base of 65.5 million pounds which can support an average annual production of 4.2 million pounds over a minimum 12 year mine life.
An Australian firm, Mantra Tanzania, is seeking a license to start mining uranium in the country and has already completed environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA) in the area which have been submitted to the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC).
The firm has been conducting prospecting activities and its exploration has identified a significant and world-class uranium deposit at the Mkuju River.
The company’s Country manager Asa Mwaipopo is however optimistic that the company will create a win-win situation for the two entities when exploration begins.
“Mantra Tanzania Ltd has already carried out an environmental and social assessment in the area that we have submitted to NEMC. We carried out more drilling works and studies on the Project area and completed another study, the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). We believe there will be a win-win situation when exploration starts late next year,” he said.
Speaking during a seminar to senstise legislators on the prospects of the project to the country’s economic development in Dar es Salaam recently, Mwaipopo said his company had carried out a a Preliminary Feasibility Study (‘PFS’) in February 2010 that confirmed the technical and economic viability of the Project.
The Parliamentary Committee Chairman for Land, Natural Resources and Environment, James Lembeli during the event said there was need for increasing transparency when Uranium mining begins if the country is to benefit.
“We have not been able to benefit from the mineral sector because of lack of transparency. We need to come up with more transparent systems to address the gaps. It is high time that these exploration contracts be made public if we as a country are to benefit,” he stressed.
Lembeli however underscored the economic viability of the proposed project in the Selous Game Reserve but called for more public awareness that will help change people’s attitude.
Underlying factors
The Mkuju River Project falls within the Undendeule Forest Reserve at the Southwest edge of the Selous Game Reserve (SGR) but the exploration company has applied for consent to operate a mine in the conservation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism on grounds that it would develop specific controls and mitigation measures to operate in the area.
Selous Game Reserve is one of the seven World Heritage Sites which the United Republic of Tanzania has inscribed to UNESCO. The company therefore saw it necessary to engage UNESCO through its World Heritage Committee in seeking and granting consent to operate a mine in the area.
The Tanzanian Government is however aware of the Operational Guidelines, which identifies mining activities to be among elements constituting ascertained danger to the outstanding universal value of a World Heritage Property but remains conscious that the project will operate under rules of procedure and guidelines.
Mitigation measures to limit and control potential impacts of the Project on the environment and on people are set out in the ESIA and will be implemented under the control of Government Departments and bodies including the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. These will include a buffer zone as well as future additional complementary measures including the legal protection of the project’s unlisted wildlife migration corridor.
Project’s viability
The exploitation of the deposit would generate over $ 3bn in export revenue and promote Tanzania to the position of the eighth largest uranium producer in the world and third largest in Africa based on 2009 production figures.
The project will thus promote the diversification in the Tanzanian minerals industry away from gold and gemstones through the creation of a new uranium mining sector. The mine development would also diversify the commodities from which income is generated from within the mining industry in Tanzania and will increase revenues derived from mining by 24% based upon 2009 industry figures.
The project will generate approximately US$ 250 million in annual foreign currency receipts , drive direct foreign investment of approximately $450m (2.1% of Tanzania’s GDP based on 2009 figures) as well as enabling the creation of approximately 1,600 jobs of various types and levels during the construction phase of the project, with the majority of labour being recruited from local and district communities.
Experience from other countries
Development of Mkuju River Project will not be the first mine in a conservation area. There are existing mining operations in some parks, reserves and even in some world heritage sites. Two examples for the purpose of this report are Ranger Uranium Mine in the Kakadu National Park in Australia and Jabiluka Uranium Mine which is in the vicinity of the Kakadu National Park which is a World Heritage Site.
The Tanzanian Government is satisfied that the development of Mkuju River Project will have no negative impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the property since best world mining practices that include rehabilitation to ensure compliance to the Environmental Management Plans will be used.
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