Dar Es Salaam: THE GOVERNMENT has issued Certificates of Infringement to 95 Large and Medium Mining Companies for violating the terms of their licenses as stipulated in the Mining Act.
Speaking on May 6, 2025 in Dar es Salaam, the Minister for Minerals, Mr. Anthony Mavunde, said the companies must respond to the motion within 30 days or their licenses will be revoked.
The Certificates of Infringement have been officially issued from April 14, 2025 and will expire on May 13 this year.
“If they are waiting for their answers, let us verify them if we are satisfied with their arguments, we will remove the prohibitions if they have no arguments, we will cancel their licenses in accordance with the Mining Act, Chapter 123, on the issuance and cancellation of mining and extraction licenses, section 63 and its regulations, which states that if you are granted a license, you should start working within 18 months.
He said the Government has issued licenses to medium and large miners which have not been worked on since their issuance.
There are companies since they took the license in 2011 until now, they have not even put a shovel in the area for 14 years now, they have not started any activities, we cannot be a country like this.
Only 7 licenses out of 95, if you put them aside, they have a capital of 15 trillion shillings, they are lying dormant, we cannot be a country that issues licenses to stimulate the mining sector to grow, and then there are people who take licenses and sit with them and do not work on the pretext that we are in talks with the government and various reasons.
Mining licenses when issued have conditions On the back of the paper there is no condition that says someone will start mining in Tanzania if they complete negotiations with the government, that is not part of the condition.
The condition is that when the applicant is granted a license, he must start mining within 18 months, otherwise he must have reasons that have been approved by the Minister of Minerals through the Minerals Commission, otherwise you must start mining within 18 months.
He said that all those who received a certificate of error who have responded should go with a letter of ‘Commitment’ explaining when they will start mining, which in the letter also happens if he has failed to meet what he said in the letter, the law will follow its course.
There are things like a country, we must make difficult decisions, we cannot make our country where someone comes and takes a license and then seeks capital, the law requires that anyone who comes to apply for a license must provide proof of financial and technical capacity before obtaining a license, not if I give it to you and you seek capital, which means you will have violated the provisions of the law by providing incorrect information when applying for a license.
“All those who do not respond within the stipulated time should not expect any mercy, and they have been champions of rushing to court to sue the government in this. The government has followed all procedures in accordance with the law that requires all licensees to renew their licenses,” said Mavunde.
The mining sector is among the sectors that contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth, so mining activities stimulate major economic development.
