DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzania intends to cancel permits for mineral sites belonging to large-scale miners that remain undeveloped and will allocate the licences to smallholders, President John Magufuli said.
The announcement comes amid a tax dispute between the state and Acacia Mining, in which the government is demanding $190-billion in penalties, after claiming the company had under-declared export revenue since 2000.
The East African nation surpassed its mining-revenue targets for the first half of the current fiscal year by 8% to 167.5-billion shillings ($72.3-million), Magufuli told mining executives in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam Tuesday. Earnings in the 2017/18 year jumped 55% to 301-billion shillings, he said.
The state intends to hold discussions with mining companies on obstacles restraining the sector, Mining Minister Doto Biteko told the executives. The industry contributed 4.8% of gross domestic product in 2017, compared with 4% in 2015, Magufuli said.