May/June 2003 • Collective Soul: The Designers of Idar • Tanzanian Ruby Mine Brings Hope • Markets: Selling Naked Gems • News & Updates • In This Issue

Longtime Rukwa gem miner Albert Alfred Chelelo and his wife show off amethyst rough mined in the area. Photo by Hamza Kondo.

Rukwa: Tanzania's Unknown Gem Giant
By Hamza Kondo · Tanzania Correspondent

According to locals, the province of Rukwa in the southern highlands of Tanzania is rich in gemstones, with a lot of potential waiting to be tapped.

Southern highlands zone Mineral Officer Gedion Kasege claims that Rukwa is among Tanzania's most forgotten regions as far as development; others are Lindi and Mtwara, both located in the southern part of the country.

In the past three years, small miners in Rukwa have found about 20 new gemstone deposits, which had been left idle for many decades due to the region's poor economic development.

Rukwa Regional Mining Association (RUREMA) Secretary Bilali Rashid Mustafa showed Colored Stone samples of all the gemstones discovered by local small miners in the region within the past few years. He claims that the Nkasi district is the richest, having many high-quality gem deposits, including the ruby in Naende and the Kisumba mines in Chala village (See Tanzanian Ruby Find Brings Hope). He added that the ruby is mined together with yellow and green tourmaline.

According to Kasege, other gemstones found in Nkasi district are zircon (pink and red) in the villages of Rweko and Malamawe and in the alluvial soil near the Mfwizi River, while aquamarine is mined by small miners in Kalunga village. Kyanite (green, yellow, and yellow-green) has been discovered and mined by small-scale miners in Mwai, Swaila, Mtenga, Chala (Naende and Kisumba), Majengo, Liele, and Kantawa villages.

A number of other gemstones have reportedly been discovered in various areas throughout Rukwa, like sapphire, emerald, topaz, garnet, agate, amethyst, moonstone, opal, and diamond.

Yellow opal rough mined by Chelelo in Rukwa. Photo by Hamza Kondo.

Kasege claims that second to the Nkasi district in gem discoveries is the rural area of Sumbawanga, where plenty of emerald is mined by local miners in Kalambazite, Muungano, Mwenzusi, Senga,Waipanga, and Lyamba La Mfipa. Yellow and blue sapphire were discovered in Tawete and Mabwenkoswe villages, and yellow tourmaline was found in Mwazye, green toumaline in Uzio, and pink and red zircon in Mumba and Zomba.

Others found in Sumbawanga rural include kyanite in Fito and Kalambazite, red garnet in Ng'ongo and Mwazye villages, and aquamarine in Lusaka, Malombo, and Kamunyanzi. Other gems have also been discovered which have not yet been identified.

Many of Rukwa's local people base their technical know-how on witchcraft; before almost everything they do, they contact a witchman for advice, including searching for gems and other business activities, said one local small-scale miner.

Like Lindi and Mtwara, Rukwa is very poor in its transportation infrastructure — most roads are seasonal — and phone systems have no Internet capabilities in the entire 75,250-square-kilometer [27,900-square-mile] region. The problem includes Rukwa's capital, Sumbawanga, where the regional commissioner's office is located, although the government is planning to install new digital phone systems in July 2003. In the meantime, Rukwa is isolated from the national and international community.

"Due to the lack of good roads and modern communication facilities, our region does not get proper publicity in the local and international media. So Rukwa development in one way or another is hindered by this big communication gap prevailing between us and the other national and international communities," complained Albert Alfred Chelelo, a long-time, small-scale miner.

The lack of communication infrastructure and transportation is only one of the problems facing small-scale gem miners in Rukwa — some others being lack of technical know-how, capital for investment, and a market. The small miners in Rukwa are currently operating their mining business by trial and error; they need training to enable them know the industry properly. They also wish to gain access to a reliable gem market like the Tucson gem shows in America in order to make a reasonable profit, explained Chelelo.

Small-scale miner Nswila Samson Kalimoja, who discovered the latest ruby deposit in Rukwa, shows off local emerald at his office in Sumbawamba. Photo by Hamza Kondo.

Tanzanian miners and mining groups are urging international gem companies to support the development of the gem industry in Tanzania and to take advantage of the many idle gem deposits in Nkasi, Sumbawanga, and Mpanda.

The Minister for Minerals and Energy Daniel Yona said investors should have no worries because the government's new legal and regulatory framework focuses on the streamlining the licensing procedures ensuring safe mining and environmental practices, and it guarantees security
of tenure, stability of fiscal regime, freedom of commercial operation, and the right to trade in minerals.

Due to the region's remoteness and rough roads, most current buyers of Rukwa gemstones are local illegal dealers from Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Arusha, and neighboring country Zambia.

Some illegal dealers in Sumbawanga who buy gems from Rukwa's small-scale miners pay one-tenth or more of what they would in Arusha, alleged Chelelo.

"We have no choice but to accept the ‘kirakas' (illegal Sumbawanga gem dealers) in order to get salt and small needs for our families," noted one of the small miners. Others report that that have been exploited by buyers who promise to find markets for their gems and then are never heard from again.