Longido — THE tanzanite mineral can easily be smuggled through airports because, being a non-platinum group metal (PMG), the blue gem cannot be detected by metal-detecting booths.

Manager of Planning and Research with Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA), Mr Julius Moshi, said since airport security checks mostly target weapons and harmful packaged chemicals, they tend to raise alarm over metallic objects only and so minerals may pass through undetected.

"In future we intend to replace airport screening booths with more advanced ones that can reveal all objects that passengers carry with them," said Mr Moshi when speaking at a special meeting between TMAA and border security personnel at Namanga in Longido District recently.

It was observed that tanzanite gemstones can be very small and thus easy to conceal within clothing, briefcases or secret compartments of travel cases, hence can easily pass through security checks undetected.

The Commissioner of Minerals in Northern Zone, Mr Benjamin Mchwampaka, said more than two tonnes of tanzanite gemstones from the Mirerani hills in Simanjiro District of Manyara Region are being ferried to the neighbouring country of Kenya every year from where they are exported overseas.

"In 2012 alone, 2.15 tonnes of tanzanite was exported from Nairobi, but we all know that the gemstones are only found in Tanzania," he pointed out, adding that last year the blue gems earned the neighbouring country around 73 million Kenya shilling (equivalent to 1.5bn/- ).

According to the commissioner, miners, dealers and traders from Tanzania have been using Kenya as their main point of export because the country still operates under the old mineral policy which does not require exporters to pay taxes or royalties on gemstone exports.

Tanzania exports an average of 1.6 million carats (around 3.5 tonnes) of tanzanite gemstones per year. The Namanga border meeting was attended by immigration, customs, police and other security officers and was organised in an effort to raise awareness about mineral smuggling at ports of entry.

"We have already conducted similar training sessions for airport personnel at Kilimanjaro International Airport, Julius Nyerere International Airport and Mwanza airport," said Mr Moshi.

He added that a new phase involving border ports had started in the Northern Zone crossing points of Tarakea, Oloitokitok, Holili, Taveta and now Namanga-Bisil. After the airport rounds, the TMAA plans to establish a special Mineral Checking Department and desks at the departure lounges of airports in order to curb mineral smuggling.