PRESIDENT MAGUFULI Imposes Ban On Mineral Sands Export.

President Magufuli said at a public rally yesterday in Kahama that gold miners should invest in smelters right here in Tanzania instead of "exporting" sands to recover minerals in them that include tin, copper and silver.

The President, who is on a tour of the Lake Regions, said among all the countries blessed with minerals, it was only Tanzania that airlifted its valuable sands abroad. He affirmed that his government would not allow that to continue.

"It is very surprising that these investors have been air-lifting mineral sands to other countries. So, I'm saying this: they must now build processing plants right here in Tanzania to purify the mineral sands. This is because when they export the sands, the government loses some revenue," Dr Magufuli said.

But the economists, in addition to commending President Magufuli's ban, said care should be taken to ensure maximum benefit from domestic investments in the smelters. Prof Semboja Haji from the Economics Department of the University of Dar es Salaam said even as the government welcomes investors to invest in smelting, it should also work diligently to establish markets for the minerals that are recovered from the sands to ensure investors recover the costs of their undertakings.

"It is crucial that the issue of markets for the minerals, mostly tin, silver and copper, is considered well in advance to ensure the investments become sustainable," Prof Haji said.

Prof Samuel Wangwe said smelting the sands within Tanzania is possible so long as there is enough political will.

"If we cannot build the smelters immediately, then there must be an agreement with the gold miners on the value of the minerals contained in the sand so as to ensure the government gets its fair share of the tax when the smelting is done outside the country," Prof Wangwe, a renowned industrial economist noted.