Greenlight for coal, iron ore mining flashed
A Greenlight has been flashed for the vast coal and iron ore reserves at Mchuchuma and Liganga to be mined for various industrial and domestic uses, it was revealed yesterday.
This has been revealed by the Industry and Trade Minister, Basil Mramba, and the good news comes barely two weeks after the World Bank said it was ready to explore the possibility of supporting coal mining for various uses if an environmental impact study was availed for the bank`s consideration.
Minister Mramba said all was set for allowing investors to inject their investments at Mchuchuma and Liganga.
He said this was a positive development because the mines had been idle since the year 1860 when they were discovered.
The minister said so far, 30 investors had shown interest to invest in the venture, adding that the doors were open for whoever else had an interest.
He said the first track is to start with small and medium investments to be followed by large scale mining later.
Tanzania has been relying on hydropower and other sources of thermal energy but once coal is tapped, the capacity will be tremendously boosted and facilitate domestic demand and a surplus for export.
SOURCE: Sunday Observer
