📍Mtwara: Mtwara Region has continued to emerge as an important hub for mineral investment in the country due to the presence of abundant resources of industrial minerals, gems and strategic minerals, with Government revenue through the sector increasing rapidly over the past three years.
The Mtwara Regional Resident Minerals Officer, Mr. Winnifrida Mrema said the region is best known for the presence of limestone minerals used to produce cement at the Dangote Cement Factory, which contributes to growing the regional economy and strengthening industrial activities in the country.
He said, Mtwara is also rich in other industrial minerals including iron, copper, tin, talc as well as heavy mineral sands, which are among the strategic minerals needed in large quantities in the world in the production of various technologies including electric vehicles.
He said the Mtwara Port has continued to be an important link for trade and the transportation of minerals and industrial products, where it is used to transport Dangote cement to Zanzibar and the Comoros Islands, in parallel with the transportation of coal from the Ruvuma and Njombe regions to markets in China, India and Dubai.
Ms. Mrema said Mtwara has great opportunities in the mining and processing of gold, copper and gemstones, especially green garnet, while encouraging local and foreign investors to use these opportunities to invest in the mining sector.
He said the Government continues to encourage investors to collaborate with small-scale miners of industrial minerals, gold and gemstones by providing them with capital, training and technical support to increase production and improve their mining activities.
Speaking about Government revenue, Ms. Mrema said that collections through the mining sector in the region have increased from 1.85 billion shillings in 2021/22 to 5.95 billion shillings in 2023/24, before reaching 7.55 billion shillings in 2024/25, a step that shows the significant growth of the sector and its contribution to the national economy.
And a Mining Engineer from the Office of the Resident Mining Officer for Mtwara Region, Mrs. Nurah Juma said that construction minerals such as stones and pebbles mined in Chipite village in Masasi district have continued to be an important pillar for the implementation of development projects in Mtwara and Lindi regions.
He said the pebbles produced in the area are used in the construction of roads, buildings, the expansion of the Mtwara Port and airports, as well as the construction of the new Mgao Island Port, a situation that contributes to the availability of quality construction materials and stimulates economic development in the southern region.
