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$117m write-down sinks miner Iamgold Tanzania
PULLING OUT: Dr Peter Dalali Kafumu, Commissioner of Minerals in the Ministry of Energy, said Iamgold informed the government in September this year. Photo/LEONARD MAGOMBA
Posted Monday, November 9 2009 at 00:00
Buckreef is located in the Lake Victoria Goldfields in northern Tanzania.
The exploration project contains a measured and indicated resource of 15.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.0 grammes per tonne of gold, indicating 1.0 million ounces of gold.
Tanzania is currently Africa’s third largest producer of gold behind South Africa and Ghana.
It is also among the top producers of diamonds in the world, not to speak of the sizeable investments in its Tanzanite gemstone sector.
Minerals make up nearly half of the country’s exports.
The mining industry currently contributes approximately 2.3 per cent to the country’s annual GDP, a figure that the government is looking to expand to 10 per cent by 2025.
However, despite having exported gold worth $2.54 billion between 1997 and 2005, Tanzania has received a mere $28 million a year as royalties and taxes.
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