DAR ES SALAAM: The government has called on mining engineering services companies to customise their projects and products to meet the needs of small and medium-scale miners, saying local investments in the mining supply chain should benefit a wider section of the sector. Tanzania’s Commissioner for Local Content and CSR at the Mining Commission, Dr … The post Govt urges mining firms to benefit small miners as 35bn/- plant cuts imports appeared first on Daily News .
DAR ES SALAAM: The government has called on mining engineering services companies to customise their projects and products to meet the needs of small and medium-scale miners, saying local investments in the mining supply chain should benefit a wider section of the sector.
Tanzania’s Commissioner for Local Content and CSR at the Mining Commission, Dr Theresia Charles Numbi, made the call during a visit to a new 35bn/-manufacturing facility being developed by Mining Engineering Services Tanzania Limited (MES), a member of the VINMART Group of Companies, in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam.
Dr Numbi toured the greenfield industrial facility to assess its progress and planned production operations, saying the government would continue supporting investments that contribute to the growth of the mining sector, strengthen local manufacturing and advance Tanzania’s economic development.
She urged MES to ensure that its project and products are customised in a manner that enables small and medium-scale miners across Tanzania to benefit from the investment.
“The government will support investments such as MES that are intended to facilitate the growth of the mining sector and contribute to the country’s economic development,” Dr Numbi said.
The MES facility is expected to significantly reduce Tanzania’s reliance on imported underground mining consumables, which have largely been sourced from foreign suppliers.
The 35bn/- investment covers the plant, equipment and supporting infrastructure required to localise production of the consumables.
According to MES management, the investment is intended to replace foreign supplies of high-volume, recurring underground mining consumables with products manufactured locally.
MES Managing Director, Pulin Manek, said the company had invested in sufficient production capacity to meet domestic demand while positioning Tanzania to supply other mining markets in the region.
“The reason we are establishing this facility is to help Tanzania reduce its reliance on imported underground mining consumables, which continue to cost the country considerable amounts of money,” the management said. “We have invested in sufficient production capacity to meet domestic demand while positioning Tanzania to supply other mining markets in the region.”
Once fully operational, the facility will have the capacity to produce two-and-a-half times Tanzania’s current monthly requirement for split sets.
“This capacity is sufficient to replace split-set imports while allowing Tanzania to export the surplus to regional markets,” Manek said.
The plant’s mine-mesh production capacity will be even higher, with the facility designed to produce about eight times the country’s current monthly requirement.
Manek said the additional capacity had been deliberately developed to serve new underground mines, support mines transitioning from open-pit to underground operations and meet demand in neighbouring markets.
“We are producing beyond the country’s present requirements because we are looking at Tanzania’s future underground mining needs as well as opportunities within the wider region,” Manek said. “We are confident that the country should not continue importing recurring consumables that can be manufactured locally.”
The facility will have three core production lines, namely mine mesh, friction-stabiliser split sets and dome plates. The company’s investments are targeting the energy, transport and mining sectors.
Mining Engineering Services Tanzania Limited (MES) Managing Director Pulin Manek (centre) speaks to reporters (not pictured) during a visit to the company by Tanzania’s Commissioner for Local Content and CSR at the Mining Commission, Dr Theresia Charles Numbi, in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
According to Manek, MES is also the first company to invest in a hot-dip galvanising bath in Tanzania, an investment that is expected to further strengthen the country’s capacity to manufacture mining-related products locally.
“Beyond import substitution, the project is expected to create employment opportunities for Tanzanians, particularly in production, welding, galvanising and engineering, while helping strengthen technical skills within the country’s mining supply chain,” he pointed out.
The company is also targeting regional markets, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with plans to leverage Tanzania’s strategic position and access through the Port of Dar es Salaam to establish the country as a regional manufacturing and supply hub.
Further, the plant’s production capacity is expected to enable Tanzania to supply both its domestic market and surplus products to regional mining markets.
Local manufacturing is also expected to significantly reduce delivery times. Imported mining consumables can take between eight and 16 weeks to arrive, while MES expects locally manufactured products to be supplied within days.
The investment is aligned with Tanzania’s Mining Act and Local Content Regulations, which give preference to goods produced in the country and services provided by Tanzanian citizens and locally incorporated companies.
The development of the MES facility therefore comes at a time when the government is seeking to deepen local participation in the mining value chain, increase domestic manufacturing and ensure that investments in the sector generate wider economic benefits for Tanzanians.
Pic: Mining
Caption; Tanzania’s Commissioner for Local Content and CSR at the Mining Commission, Dr Theresia Charles Numbi (centre-left), in a discussion with Directors of Mining Engineering Services Tanzania Limited (MES), a member of the VINMART Group of Companies, during her tour of the company’s facility in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Pic: Mining 2
Caption; Mining Engineering Services Tanzania Limited (MES) Managing Director Pulin Manek (centre) speaks to reporters (not pictured) during a visit to the company by Tanzania’s Commissioner for Local Content and CSR at the Mining Commission, Dr Theresia Charles Numbi, in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
The post Govt urges mining firms to benefit small miners as 35bn/- plant cuts imports appeared first on Daily News.
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