KENYA has been greatly impressed by the successes of the State Mining Corporation (STAMICO) and in turn dispatches a delegation of six to Tanzania for a study tour.
Stamico, a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Minerals, in recent days turned from a loss-making entity to a profitable one with revenue generation rising from 1.36bn/- in 2018/2019 to 48.9bn/- in 2021/2022.
Kenya's Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Mining Blue Economy and Maritime Mr Elijah Mwangi said they chose to come to Tanzania after being impressed by its mining sector and STAMICO has a vast experience in the area.
"STAMICO is in business for a long time, we did not see any reason to choose another country for studying except Tanzania," Mr Mwangi, the head of the delegation, said in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
"We are very grateful for [Tanzania] being a good neighbour and opening its doors for our people."
He said STAMICO is doing well in developing the mining value chain activities and will continue to be a role model for them on how to professionally conduct mining activities in the exploration, mining, processing and trading of minerals.
The Kenyan delegation in their weeklong visit to Dar es Salaam that ended last Saturday, had in-depth discussions with their counterparts on how they would borrow a leaf from Tanzania to modernise their mining activities including reinforcing the laws and procedures, which have made STAMICO to stand out from the rest.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"We have learnt a lot on how serious mining activities when adhered to can change and improve the lives of communities and the nation as a whole," Mr Mwangi said.
Nevertheless, Stamico in March signed a historic two-year contract of 55.2bn/- with Geita Gold Mining (GGM) for rock drilling and blasting.
The contract came after the state mining firm successfully implemented an initial contract of 5.6bn/- signed in July 2020.
And, this April, the state mining paid a dividend of 2.2bn/- for last year when marking its 50 years of its being after making a good profit.
The STAMICO Managing Director, Dr Venance Mwasse, said the coming of the delegation showed the country is doing well in mining activities and mineral resources management and the tour will further promote economic diplomacy between the countries.
"We exchanged experiences on how to operate the mining sector, empowering small-scale miners and mining refining and how these activities benefit the communities," Dr Mwasse said.
The STAMICO chief also said that they discussed the benefit of the automatic 16 per cent stake of the government in the mines.
"We have also explained to Kenyans how STAMICO benefits from the ministry in terms of guidance.
"Geology has no boundaries, but countries have boundaries, and what is available here may also be available in Kenya, so we are ready to work together on how to manage our resources," Dr Mwasse said.
The tour included extensive training and visits to some of the mining sites including a demonstration of mining activities and a gold refinery at the STAMIGOLD mine owned by the state.
