The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
8 December 2011
Mwanza — Mining companies operating in Tanzania have been challenged to look at the possibility of listing at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) with a view of making Tanzanians players of mining business in the country.
The chairman of Tanzania Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TEITI), Judge Mark Bomani (rtd) gave the advice during the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME) annual general meeting held in Mwanza recently.
“Make part of your shares available to Tanzanians through institutions such as DSE,” the TEITI chairman said, adding that the step will lead to greater confidence on the part of citizens toward mining companies and more benefits to the country.Making a specific case, Judge Bomani hailed the decision of African Barrick Gold (ABG) to list at the DSE this month, saying that is a significant development for the mining industry in the country.
“This is absolutely admirable,” he said. Richland Resources Ltd, the holding company of TanzaniteOne Mining Limited, will follow suit, early next year once all regulatory approvals were put in place.
He said that these developments provide meaningful visibility on a range of benefits that continue to accrue to the Tanzanian economy and Tanzanians in general, from the increasing growth and profitability levels of the industry.
The TEITI chairman said that mining companies have done a lot of positive things in Tanzania, and that those efforts should be supported and upheld.
The chairman of the meeting, Mr Emmanuel Ole Naiko hailed the idea of listing of mining companies at the DSE ,calling that step a ‘crucial one’ for the country’s development. “This is a positive development for our country and it should be supported by any means,” Ole Naiko, himself a mining engineer said.
Mr Ole Naiko encouraged transparency and free flow of information among players in the mining sector as this will greatly help to avoid misconceptions people have toward mining companies.
Statistics show that in the last decade about $2.5 billion has been invested in exploration and mining endeavours in the country. Mineral exports from the TCME members alone have risen from $16 million in 1997 to $1.57 billion by 2010.
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