Tanzania - Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Technical Assistance Loan Project - update : Tanzania - Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Technical Assistance Loan Project

Page 1 PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) CONCEPT STAGE Report No.: AB2029 Project Name Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources. TAL Region AFRICA Sector Mining and other extractive (100%) Project ID P096302 Borrower(s) GOVERNMENT OF TANZANIA Implementing Agency Ministry of Energy and Minerals Sokoine/Mkwepu Street P.O. Box 2000/9152 Tanzania Tel: (255-61) 324943 Fax: (255-61) 234943 Ministry of Finance and Economic Development P.O. Box 9111 Tanzania Environment Category [ ] A [X] B [ ] C [ ] FI [ ] TBD (to be determined) Date PID Prepared December 7, 2005 Estimated Date of Appraisal Authorization December 10, 2006 Estimated Date of Board Approval April 16, 2007 1. Key development issues and rationale for Bank involvement Tanzania still ranks low on the human development scale of UNDP. Poverty remains widespread, with the higher levels of poverty concentrated in the rural areas. The relative slow pace of growth and diversification of the traditional components of the rural economy are main factors in the persistence of poverty. The slow evolution of export agriculture, with low productivity of subsistence agriculture, and overall lack of non-farm income generating activities have limited the opportunities for the rural populations to secure and/or increase significantly cash income, with the exception of both mechanized and artisan mining, which have undergone major growth since the mid- 1990s. Further growth in the rural private economy is crucial to enable growth in overall employment and income. Mining and agriculture have been key sectors of the Tanzanian economy for many decades. However, mining declined progressively after the 1950s, despite a rich endowment of diverse mineral resources and a long tradition of gold, diamond and gemstone mining. Since the late 1990