THE Chairman of the Tanzania Chamber of Minerals and Energy (TCME) has assured Tanzanians of their continuous firm engagement with the mining investors in the country in order to ensure that they maintain good environment condition to the people living around the mining sites in the country. Speaking in an exclusive interview TCME boss Joseph kahama said that, the move is to ensure members of the TCME to abide by the new mining laws and policies which requires them to keep the local surroundings clean and free from any harmful hazards that might be caused as a result of the continued mining activities. He made the call on Wednesday this week after he had launched the documentary which shows the organization’s development initiatives for its members which took place at Geothe Institute in Dar es Salaam. The documentary is divided in four part series that highlights most significance areas such as how mining works, the environmental and mining’s effects, Mining and the local community and lastly the expanding the transfer of knowledge and skills. In the first episode which showed how mining works is the story behind how large scale mining works from exploration to final product and where money goes. The second episode follows Tanzanian mining employees as they discussed the innovation and technology employed in environmental management, while in the third episode Tanzanians discussed how the industry delivers every day benefits. In the fourth episode, the job creating effect of mining in Tanzania showed how this is investigated and employees at Tanzanian mines discusses their jobs and how mining has improved their lives. According to TCME Chairman, the series is part of a wider communications initiative by the TCME to build the actual understanding of the mining sector, its impacts on communities, environment and its economy in the country since the activities took place over a decade ago “This is the beginning, over the next year we will roll out several initiatives aimed at driving deeper understanding of the mining sector tom inform the national debate on how best to enhance its benefits” he said. “We are committed to ensuring that, the environmental impact of our activities is minimized whilst the environmental benefits are maximized”, he said adding that his organization is directly committed to the sustainability of the mining operations and the strict adherence to all relevant environmental laws and regulations.
Tanzanite mineral gemstones are mined in Arusha, Tanzania only. There are no any places in te world whereby such gemstones are found.
Mining as an industry in Tanzania has brought the biggest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into Tanzania to effectively extract resources in a manner that benefits investors, the national economy and the host communities. He noted that, a comprehensive Environmental Management Plans are developed for each mining site to cover all stages of the mining process, and include measures such as bore hole monitoring and topsoil replacement. A number of TCME members also run corporate social investment (CSI) programmes with an environmental focus. Other CSI programs include ensuring water safety from the scoping stage to mine closure, development of an environmental management plan for each individual site and constant monitoring, including annual audits. Others are monitoring bore holes conducted throughout the lifecycle of each mine, replacing topsoil after mine closure to ensure that run-off is limited as well as ensuring TCME members are well informed of environmental sensitivities through consistent engagement and dialogue with environmental groups, and take action to mitigate any negative impacts at the earliest stage. Tanzania is the 4th largest gold producer in Africa after South Africa, Ghana and Mali. Gold production currently stands at roughly 40 tonnes a year, copper at 2980 tonnes, silver at 10 tonnes and diamond at 112670 carats. Minerals that have been identified in Tanzania include gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, cobalt, silver, diamond, tanzanite, ruby, garnet, limestone, soda ash, gypsum, salt, phosphate, coal, uranium, gravel, sand and dimension stones.
No comments:
Post a Comment