The value of gold and diamond produced by large-scale miners increased by 5.8 percent during the year ending June this year compared with a similar month last year, shows a report.
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Economic Bulletin for the Quarter ending June 2018, indicated that the value of gold and diamond produced by large scale miners increased to $367.3 million in the quarter ending June 2018 from $347.2 million recorded in the corresponding quarter in 2017.
The value of gold increased by 4.7 per cent to $349.7 million in the quarter ended June 2018, from $334.1 million in the same period last year. This happened when year-on-year the volume recorded an annual decline of 0.6 percent to 10.38 tonnes from 10.45 tonnes on that period.
The report further indicated that the value of diamonds went up by 34.4 percent to $17.6 as of June 2018, from $13.1 million in the quarter ended June, last year, while the volume produced went up by 16.3 percent to 81.29 tonnes from 64.85 tonnes in the period under review.
The latest National Environment Statistics Report 2017 for Tanzania Mainland, which was published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) early this year, shows that, mineral exports earnings reached $2.05 billion (equivalent to Sh4.67 trillion) in 2016, up from $1.92 billion (Sh4.37 trillion) in 2013. Specifically, gold exports alone accounted for more than 89 percent of all mineral exports in 2016, thanks to global demand and stable prices.
According to the report, gold production in those four years averaged 43.5 tonnes per year, making Tanzania the fourth largest gold producer in Africa after South Africa, Ghana and Mali.
