New mining and rough gemstone export legislation passed in Tanzania

Recently, the parliament of Tanzania took a decision to ban export of rough gemstones from Tanzania, reports say. The purpose behind this move is to develop a cutting and polishing industry in Tanzania itself and boost local employment. The gemstones under purview of the new legislation include diamonds, tanzanite, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, turquoise, topaz and others, reports add. At the parliament session, William Ngeleja - Minister of Energy and Minerals said that the decision followed a long drawn discussion on this bill, and has finally been passed.

Under the revised legislation, the mining of gemstones will be reserved for locals; foreigners are required to enter into joint ventures with Tanzanian nationals; it is mandatory for mining contracts to be reviewed every five years, with specific areas set aside by the government to avert recurring conflicts with big miners. Also, Tanzania will not issue new gemstone mining licenses to foreign companies. Current agreements with foreign mining companies remain unchanged. Gemstone producer Tanzanite One (TNZ.L), will not be affected by the new ownership rules.

This new legislation will bear heavy on the Jaipur gemstone industry. Today, cutting and polishing of tanzanite is a major business for the Jaipur gemstone industry, which procures all the rough from Tanzania - the only source for tanzanite.

Industry views :-

Rajiv Jain, Vice-chairman, GJEPC, said, “We know that this kind of bill has been passed . The talks at the higher government level have already been initiated and we are trying to find the best possible solution for the trade of Jaipur”.

Jagdish Tambi, KL Tambi & Co., Jaipur, said, “I am hearing about this and I hope that some solution should come out for the same. The Tanzania government is expecting to get employment there but currently it is not possible to cut and polish the gemstone in Tanzania. The tanzanite one sight holders would be benefited from this as the company has a license to export and the new laws are not applicable on them . But this would definitely make the shortage of the raw material, which is anyway tough to procure.”

Sanjay Phophalia, United Jewellers, Jaipur said, “I am aware of this bill but there are lot of uncertainties which would be clear in the due course of time. This should be taken care at the government level and the Ministry should try and help the trade of Jaipur, as the policy if applied could negatively affect the Jaipur manufacturing trade.”