Kassim Majaliwa, the Tanzanian Prime Minister orders an investigation pointing directly his finger against “the cartels preventing the government from obtaining revenues from the tanzanite auctions”. The authority of the African country, the only producer in the world of this precious blue variety of zoisite, had started trading raw and cut gems during a first international auction held in Dar Es-Salam from 9th to 12th August 2016. The sales operations offered to international buyers material coming not only from Tanzanite One (a company that has long been leader in extraction), but also from Franone Mining and Gems Company, Tanzanite Africa Ltd, Chusa Mining Ltd and Laizer & Partners. The results evidenced 318,033.17gr of raw material sold, along with 3,274.70 carats of processed tanzanites for a revenue equal to 2,9 million and 547,786 US$ respectively, with government rights worth 173,203US$. Let us calculate: the production increased by 17% from 2008 to 2013, from 768 to 900 tons in 2015 and export reached 4.4 million US$ with 223,979 US$ in royalties, a figure that surprises in the negative and that can be considered as realistic by operators. This data can surely evidence the healthy conditions of this precious mining branch, but, at the same time, gives a clear picture of the phenomenon relative to the haemorrhage of transactions towards the neighbouring countries, above all Kenya. On the online Tanzanian newspaper “The Citizen”, the topic of tanzanite as resource that continuously fails to catch the opportunities for the development of the country is recurring. Recently, the idea of a De Beers model has found a place on its pages. This could be possible if, by luck, all tanzanite in the world would be placed in the single area of Merelani. However, it is still to see how a single African State can apply a control plan on its own precious resources without a proper international support.
Gem News by Trasparenze News, published on Rivista Italiana di Gemmologia #1, May 2017.
