By Staff Writer, Dar es Salaam
AFRICAN Minerals Geoscience Centre (AMGC) eyes to establish a state-of-the-art small-medium scale gold refinery and Coltan processing and smelting plant and to foster socioeconomic development in the country and AMGC member states at large.
African Minerals Geoscience Centre , Director General, Ibrahim Shaddad
Speaking in an exclusive interview at the weekend with reporters in Dar es Salaam, AMGC Director General Ibrahim Shaddad said the AMGC, among other things, promoted collaboration with the private sector within the scope of its mandate to enhance Public Private Partnership (PPP).
“This is part of the efforts in ensuring the sustainability of the AMGC and easing its heavy dependency on the member states’ contribution which ultimately will pave the way for more African countries to join the AMGC to boost the growth of the value addition in the extractive industry in Africa,” he noted.
He said the two income generation projects were endorsed by the 37th Policy Organ Meeting held in AMGC under the chair ship of Tanzania and will be implemented by a separate commercial entity that adhere to all investment laws and regulations in Tanzania. This paradigm shift is based on 27th meeting of the governing council in Maputo, Mozambique, which was held earlier directed the AMGC to promote collaboration with the private sector for the robust growth of the mining sector in Africa that would curb unemployment and generate income for respective countries.
Mr. Shaddad added that the AMGC had been pursuing joint ventures that could provide high technology facilities enhancing its Pan-African capacity and minerals services that would generate significant incomes to enable it to be self-sufficient, reduce financial dependency on member states.
He said the AMGC was established in 1977 in Dodoma, Tanzania, as one of the sub-regional centers for the development of the mining sector named as Eastern and Southern African Minerals Resources Development Centre (ESAMRDC), which later changed its name into the Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre (SEAMIC).
“I have personal approached some African countries also to join the AMGC as of now we have Ethiopia, Tanzania as host country, Kenya, Mozambique, the Comoros, Uganda, Sudan, and Angola, but there are efforts going on to invite more African countries to join the AMGC to promote public awareness on the potential of the mining sector’s contribution to the socioeconomic development of the continent,” he stressed.
He went on to say that in 1991 the AMGC moved its operations to an extensive new site in Dar es Salaam with a mission to promote socioeconomic and environmentally friendly responsible mining sector development in Africa to meet the new demand of the mining sector in Africa.
Mr. Shaddad, who is a Sudanese diplomat and a renowned geologist, said since he joined the AMGC in 2015 he had made the AMGC a well-recognized continental institute, enhanced its analytical infrastructures, increase the salaries of its members of staff, change the AMGC’s image to be a more decent institute and make the working environment more presentable to reflect the Pan-Africanism.
“Under my management the AMGC has provided free of charge training opportunities for 336 young Tanzanians. A considerable number of them were taken as apprentices (86 internships) since they were fresh graduates from different universities and high learning institutions in Tanzania,” he said.
He noted that there were ongoing efforts to rehabilitate ceramic working equipment with the Chinese Embassy in Dar es Salaam to make it more vibrant and robust to intensify the department for the better of the AMGC, Tanzania and the continent at large.
Formerly, AMGC was known as Southern and Eastern African Mineral Centre (SEAMIC) established in 1977 through the efforts of the founding fathers of Tanzania and Ethiopia, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Haile Selassie respectively. The two leaders were staunch supporters of the liberation struggle of African countries.
It principally conducts regional geological surveys and provides mineral exploration and consulting services for programmes of its founding member countries, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania and later was joined by Uganda, Angola and the Comoros. Kenya became a member in 2006 and Sudan in 2010.
In 2007, a ministerial meeting in Maputo decided that membership was open to all African states. To reflect this expansion scope, the name of the facility changed to AMGC from July 2015.
In 1991 AMGC moved its operations to a new site in Dar es Salaam with a mission to promote socioeconomic and environmentally responsible mineral sector development in Africa. To meet new demand for mineral sector stakeholders AMGC diversified its services to provide a high-tech, modern minerals analytical laboratory services and geo-information data processing activities, complemented with the provision of short-term specialized training.
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