Mining Licences - MSN, page-7

MNS holders may also wish to familiarise themselves with sections 36 & 52 of the Tanzanian Mining Act 2010. These two sections are important in deterring western mining companies from investing in Tanzanian tenements and make investors wary, particularly of any company that doesn't have a mining licence post operative 90 plus days.

These two sections state that any miner granted a mining licence must commence mining operations within 90 days , and that a failure to do so shall result in a 20 million TSH fine. "Offending " miners receive a 30 day notice to pay with little legal recourse. What's the problem you ask? The problem is that each year 100s of mining licences are cancelled . Recently the Tanzanian president ushered the cancellation of over 100 mining licenses on large tenements without any communication or negotiation with the affected enterprises.

Additional sections of the act outline the "repatriation , relocation and compensation" obligations of granted miners to indigenous land dwellers. It's well known that in Tanzania when a mining tenement is dug over suddenly the number of local tribesman swells. A Tribe or two suddenly swells to many as word spreads that repatriation payments are in the wind. Any dispute is always found in favour of the locals. Negotiations can drag on for months , and corrupt officials use the threat of mining cancellation to suck every last dollar from mining company.

The Mining Act also requires companies like MNS to employ, train and remunerate adequately locals. The local workforce is of course kinfolk of the local tribe . So if the company doesn't comply with adequate "remuneration" for the recently expanded local tribe, then works tend to go slow and machinery / equipment faults escalate .

DYOR but there's a reason most major mining companies look at some African States as high risk destinations of last resort.