Tag Archives: mining

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Wednesday ordered the army to build a wall around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling and better control exports of the precious gems unique to the East African country. The deep blue or royal purple stones are mined in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Tanzanian government said Sunday it had confiscated diamonds worth nearly $30 million after accusing British company Petra Diamonds of having declared a lower value when trying to export the gems. Speaking on government television channel TBC 1, Finance Minister Philip Mpango said the diamonds extracted …

Marikana, South Africa | AFP | At the site of the 2012 Marikana massacre where police shot dead 34 strikers, thousands of South African miners sang remembrance songs Wednesday as campaigners demanded prosecutions and compensation. The 34 miners were gunned down after police were deployed to break up a wildcat strike …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana has long been known for its bountiful gold reserves and was called “the Gold Coast” during its colonial era. But illegal mining in Africa’s second largest producer is taking a heavy human as well as environmental and economic toll with more than $2 billion lost …

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS |  Ever since his election in 2015, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has been a subject of public fascination. At first, his war on graft promised to cleanse the state of corruption, while his patriotic thrift inspired the hashtag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo? But as this campaign of tumbua majipu (“lance the boils”) was …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Mining company Acacia agreed Friday to pay more royalties to Tanzania’s government as it seeks an end to a dispute over alleged underreporting of production and profits. President John Magufuli accused the London-listed company, whose largest shareholder is Canadian Barrick Gold, of “theft” after a …

Mercury: Slow killer in Uganda’s gold mines Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE |   Inside one of the dozens of gold camps that dot the foothills and valleys of Mubende in central Uganda, the hustle and bustle is astounding. “Saigon City” nestled in the valley of Kayonza; Kitumbi Sub-County is one such camp. …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  The editor-in-chief of a Tanzanian newspaper suspended last week after linking two former presidents to controversial mining contracts said he has since faced threatening anonymous phone calls. Tanzania’s information ministry on Thursday imposed a two-year suspension on the Mawio weekly, a frequent critic of the …

Tanzanian newspaper suspended for pointing finger at Mkapa, Kikwete Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian weekly, Mawio, has been ordered to suspend publication for two years after pointing the finger at two former presidents in connection with huge revenue losses, the country’s interior ministry said Friday. The weekly, regularly critical of …

  Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | AFP |  Tanzania has agreed to negotiations with Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold which it accuses of operating illegally and evading taxes, a government statement said Wednesday. Barrick is the majority shareholder in London-listed Acacia Mining which a presidential commission report said this week …