Leonard Magomba
23 November 2009
Nairobi — South Africa-based Elgin Engineering and the state-owned Tanzania State Mining Corporation (Stamico) are jointly constructing a $20 million mining equipment manufacturing facility.
The facility, to be the largest of its kind in the East African region, will produce mining dig, sugar milling and shipping equipment when it commences operations in May.
According to Stamico, the Tanzanian government is funding the project, with assistance from its development partners.
The construction of the first phase of the plant in Dodoma, central Tanzania, has started and is expected to be completed in January, Ramadhani Hatib, acting board chairman of Stamico, told The EastAfrican in Dar es Salaam last week.
He said about 90 per cent of the equipment, currently imported, will soon be manufactured in the country.
"The plant will also do fabrication, refurbishment, repair and maintenance of mining equipment, assembly and erection of prefabricated steel structures, and sugar milling," said Mr Hatib.
He said Stamico and Elgin will also jointly design, construct and operate two engineering workshops in Dodoma.
Elgin will also run a machine repair workshop at the current Stamico premises and a full-scale engineering works and training centre for small-scale miners on a plot of land owned by Stamico.
Gray Mwakalukwa, the managing director of Stamico, told The EastAfrican that the joint venture will undertake drilling of mineral exploration and geotechnical studies from eight rigs owned by Stamico.
Out of eight rigs, two have been acquired under a leasing arrangement and one on a hiring basis, he said, adding that the corporation has pumps, down-hole tools and accessories and experienced drillers for hard- and soft rock formations.
According to Mr Mwakalukwa, the second phase of the project will involve installation of machines ready for operation come May.
The two firms have already signed a memorandum of understanding for the plant, which is expected to employ more than 300 people and reduce the cost of hiring mining equipment from overseas, saving East African countries millions of dollars.
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