Ministry allocates land for small scale miners
THE Ministry of Minerals has set aside 46 areas covering 281,533.69 hectares in different parts of the country for small scale miners, the Deputy Minister Dotto Biteko, announced here yesterday. He told the National Assembly that since the year 1996, the government through his ministry has been allocating special areas for small scale miners countrywide and that they will continue doing so on availability of such areas. The Deputy Minister was responding to a question by Upendo Peneza (Special Seats-Chadema), who sought to know when the government would provide small scale miners surveyed areas with minerals like gold, including Moroko area in Geita Region and other areas in the country. He explained that in Geita Region, the ministry has already allocated different areas and providing mining licences to small scale miners. Such areas include Nyarugusu where 41 licences have been issued. Other areas with the number of licences issued in brackets, according to the Deputy Minister ar