| THE | ARUSHA TIMES |
ON THE WEB
| ISSN 0856-9135; No. 00211 |
March 9 - 15, 2002 |
ON THE WEB
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Msabaha urges AFGEM, small scale miner to forge common standby Paul Sarwatt In a bid to reduce unnecessary costs of exporting rough Tanzanite abroad for cutting and polishing, the South African Gem Resources Mining Company (AFGEM) has started a programme to train Tanzanian youths on how to cut and polish the minerals locally. Briefing the Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals, Dr. Ibrahim Msabaha during his tour of Mererani, AFGEM’s plant manager, Joe Kimble said that the programme aimed at minimizing costs of transporting rough gems to the Far East for such services. Mr. Kimble said that apart from the reduction of the transportation cost the venture would also increase government revenue. Cut Tanzanite will have more value than rough ones.
The general manager told Dr. Msabaha that to start with they have four men who will be qualified in a period of six months. They are being trained by South African experts. The trained youths are expected to gain knowledge which will enable them to create their self employment. The South African company will also start to make Tanzanite ornaments of various type including rings, chains, earrings, which will cater for the internal and external market. Earlier, Dr. Msabaha urged the management of AFGEM to cooperate with the small scale miners and solve their prolonged conflict that may have contributed to the collapse of Tanzanite prices in the world market. He said the two sides should collaborate and stand together to fight for their unique product so that it does not pass through illegal ways to the world market. The deputy minister also visited the Mererani mines area and saw other activities run by the Rock Explosive Company of Maralex which belongs to a local entrepreneur, Henry Nyiti. |
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Last modified:
March 09, 2002. Webmaster: WDJMallya |
