Africa is richly endowed with minerals and other natural resources. The continent ranks second in quantity of world reserves of bauxite, cobalt, diamonds, gold, phosphate rock, platinum-group metals (PGM), vermiculite, and zirconium. For instance, Africa produces about 49 percent by volume of the world’s total diamond production, about 30 percent by volume of the world’s phosphate rock production, about 19 percent by volume of world’s uranium production and about 12 percent by volume of crude oil.
I will not be bragging in saying that my country, Tanzania, contributes a sizeable share of Africa’s mineral wealth. Tanzania is richly endowed with minerals of all kinds. Almost every mineral known to exist in the earth’s crust can be found in Tanzania, and some exist in large quantities. Tanzania offers a stable political environment with sound legal and fiscal policies.
In terms of potential, the following is what we have to offer:
1. Excess of 45 million ounces of gold, 1.5 million tonnes of nickel and 50 million carats of tanzanite.
2. An extensive Proterozoic terrain containing lode and near-surface gold deposit types.
3. Potential for epithermal gold deposits in the faulted younger rocks on the coastal plain.
4. A world-class diamondiferous kimberlite at Maude and more than 200 other kimberlite pipes many of which are yet to be thoroughly evaluated.
5. Scores of occurrences of high-value coloured gemstones, such as emerald, ruby, tsavorite, sapphire, tanzanite and alexandrite.
6. A wealth of other opportunities in minerals, particularly industrial minerals including coal, iron, tin, graphite, evaporites, kaolin, limestones, dimension stones, phosphates and gypsum, and,
7. More than a dozen carbonatites, only a few of which have been thoroughly explored.
8. Hydrocarbons do exist. So far, we have found sizeable quantities of gas in three places. The third field was discovered about four weeks ago. There is a lot of exploration for oil and gas that is ongoing onshore, offshore and in the shallow waters and in the deep sea.
SPEECH BY H.E. JAKAYA MRISHO KIKWETE, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA, AT THE INVESTING IN AFRICAN MINING INDABA XII, CAPE TOWN – SOUTH AFRICA
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