The Geological Survey of Tanzania (the “GST”), a Government Agency operating under the umbrella of the Ministry of Minerals, has established a National Mineral Resources Data Bank. In relation to this it has issued a public notice (the “Notice”) reminding all mineral right holders, being holders of any type of mining or mineral licence, to submit their exploration, research and mining data/information (referred to as “mineral data”) to the GST on or before 31 March 2020.

The Notice stipulates that pursuant to section 27F (3) of the Mining Act 2010 (the “MA”) a mineral right holder must submit to the GST the following mineral data:

  1. Geological maps and plans;
  2. Geophysical and geochemical raw data;
  3. Processed and interpreted data or maps;
  4. Technical reports;
  5. Core samples and its mineral exploration database; and
  6. Any other information as may be required by the GST.

It must be noted that in the aforementioned section of the MA, the word ‘accurate’ has been specifically stated, and in our view this is because the mineral data is by virtue of statute the property of the Government and forms a part of the National Mineral Resources Data Bank, therefore the onus has been put on the mineral right holder to ensure the mineral data is accurate. Furthermore, the mineral right holder must provide copies of the mineral data to the GST at no cost. The Notice also states that all mineral right holders are required to submit the mineral data on a quarterly basis to the GST and that all submitted mineral data shall be held in strict confidence.

If you have any questions regarding this legal update, please contact Amish Shah on aks@arslaw.co.tz or Shamiza Ratansi on snr@arslaw.co.tz.