Mining is risky, capital-intensive endeavor pursued by the rich, daydreamers, or those who have fallen out of luck, it’s a fast way for anyone to lose their fortune or to turn to witchcraft and make belief fantasies. If you grew up in Tanzania you are most likely to see mining under these glasses, with the familiar tales of those who made and lost fortunes in Mererani mining Tanzanite.
This mindset has caused many educated youths to shy away from this sector with those who pursue it only looking for jobs in well-established, well-known miners like BARRICK and its peers. Yet every day the newspaper headlines are filled with news about new findings made by foreign-owned entities in a sector most are unfamiliar with or at best ignorant by choice.
Unlike agriculture which happens to employ the bulk of the population (70% of the population), the mining sector employs around 6 million people most of whom are classified as artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM), in 2022 the industry was the most significant contributor to the economy. Entry into the sector is still shrouded in mystery to most. with the global move to greener energy, it’s kind of sad to see most Tanzanians unaware of the opportunities that pass them by they stand oblivious to everything going on around them.
There are several ways locals can participate in the industry the easiest and most straightforward is by purchasing shares through the Dar Es Salaam stock exchange (Unfortunately only BARRICK happens to be cross-listed) with the majority of the other publicly listed miners being listed in other exchanges such as the ASX (Australia Stock Exchange), TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange), LSE (London Stock Exchange) and many others, The second option is to participate through the direct ownership of primary mining licenses (PML), PMLs are mining licenses that are exclusively granted to locals to increase participation of Tanzanians in the mining sector, they can be owned jointly by many individuals or by a majority local owned company that can allow them to do the mining activities alone or partner with 3rd party investors (mostly foreigners ) to extract the resources.
Owning a PML is not a complicated matter, one needs only his/her NIDA card and is ready to start the journey into the mining sector, but before venturing into this arena I would suggest one gets an overview understanding of the duties and responsibilities of license owners, consult a geologist to find out a bit more about the mineralization of the area, unfortunately not all stereotypes are wrong mining is a capital intensive endeavor that can make or break fortunes so tread lightly, consult experts and plan before you start.
