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Tanzania braces for uranium mining boom

01-08-2007


Dar es Salaam, ThisDay:

MAJOR new investments are expected in the country’s mining industry following recent indications of rich deposits in uranium, it has been reported.

According to the Voice of America (VOA), the government also faces a serious challenge of ensuring that uranium mined in Tanzania does not pose a threat to global security.

VOA reported two overseas companies � the British-based Uranium Resources and Australia’s Western Metals � as saying that test results from their recent joint exploratory drilling in the country have revealed evidence of significant uranium deposits in the country.

The companies were quoted as saying they need to conduct more field research to be certain, but the preliminary results have been highly encouraging.

If the deposits are confirmed, Tanzania could join Namibia, Niger, and South Africa as an internationally-recognized uranium producing country.

This is on the back of recent reports that global demand for the mineral is quickly outstripping supply.

The Deputy Minister of Energy and Minerals, William Ngeleja, was quoted by VOA as saying he believes uranium could become one of the country’s top mineral exports, alongside gold and diamonds.

Tanzania is currently listed as Africa’s third largest gold producer after South Africa and Ghana, and its mining sector contributes about two per cent to the country’s overall economy.

Ngeleja said the national goal is to have the mining sector account for ten per cent of Gross Domestic Product by the year 2025.

’’This is good news,’’ he said, adding: ’’Uranium is used for many industrial uses in the world, and we expect that uranium in our country (Tanzania) would make us benefit a lot. We expect to raise revenues from this uranium mineral.’’

Uranium’s civilian use is largely as fuel for electricity-generating nuclear power plants. These plants generate about 17 per cent of the world’s electricity.

Energy experts say global demand for power is growing every year, but there is barely enough uranium to fuel existing plants.

The military uses uranium as a key component in hardening tank armour and to make armour-piercing ammunition. Uranium can also be enriched to make radioactive bombs and nuclear weapons.

In recent years Tanzania, which like many African countries is struggling to curb widespread corruption, has been a favourite transit point for smugglers of uranium.

In 2002, police in Tanzania seized 110 kilogrammes of uranium in plastic containers, ready to be sold. Among the five people arrested in connection with the case were four Tanzanians, including a government economist.

Three years later, Tanzanian customs officials discovered a huge shipment of uranium being transported from a mine in Congo Kinshasa to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, heightening Western fears about the extent of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

Ngeleja said if and when the country begins producing uranium, his ministry will enact necessary laws and establish safeguards to prevent the mineral from falling into the wrong hands.


http://www.thisday.co.tz/News/2460.html