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The lure of gold in Tanzania

Hands turn over rocks that could contain gold. Photo: DW, Julia Hahn, November 2012

36 million ounces of gold: Tanzania is sitting on a billion dollar gold mine. Many local residents are willing to risk their lives just for a few grams.

Who is buying Tanzania's gold?

Meet the Tanzania team

DW reporter Adrian Kriesch *** Bilder Deutsche Welle, Julia Hahn, November 2012 Ort: Nord Mara Goldmine, Nord Mara Region, Tansania *** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Mara_Gold_Mine North Mara Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in the Tarime District of the Mara Region of Tanzania. It is operated by African Barrick Gold. It is one of four gold mines African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, operates in Tanzania, the other three being Tulawaka, Bulyanhulu and the Buzwagi Gold Mine. In the financial year 2009, the four operations produced a combined amount of 716,000 attributable ounces of gold.

Adrian Kriesch and Julia Hahn travelled to the north-western tip of Tanzania for DW. What impressions and memories did they bring back from their investigations in North Mara?

  • The treasure trove

    The daily struggle for gold

    The treasure trove

    3.8 million ounces of gold lie buried in the ground in North Mara in northwestern Tanzania. The mine there is one of six in the country. Since 2006 it's been run by African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company.

  • The goldmine

    The daily struggle for gold

    The goldmine

    “Gokona” is the name of one of the three open-cast pits in the North Mara mining complex. Every day rock containing gold is blasted out of the ground. The top quality material contains four to five grams of gold per tonne. In ten years, however, the stocks will be exhausted.

  • Hoping for jobs

    The daily struggle for gold

    Hoping for jobs

    The African Barrick Gold mine is one of the main employers in North Mara. Over 2,000 people are employed either directly or indirectly as external service providers. Despite this, most of the region's inhabitants remain without work.

  • Behind the fence

    The daily struggle for gold

    Behind the fence

    A barbed wire fence is meant to protect the mine from plunderers but many still manage to cut holes and enter. The company therefore keeps the compund under strict observation. Private security personnel and the Tanzanian police guard the area. There are frequent clashes between them and local residents, often resulting in injuries and deaths.

  • The intruders

    The daily struggle for gold

    The intruders

    There are often several hundred “intruders” who storm the mining site in search of stones containing traces of gold. They earn at least a small amount of money by selling their finds to middlemen.

  • The gold diggers

    The daily struggle for gold

    The gold diggers

    “We only take what is left over but the police chase us away,” says Jumanne. "They follow us right to our villages.” Like many “intruders”, Jumanne argues that the mining firm should leave the debris to them.

  • The gold panner

    The daily struggle for gold

    The gold panner

    The debris is washed and examined for traces of gold. It is mainly women who do this strenuous work. They search for hours, usually in vain. This gold panner earns 20,000 Tanzanian shillings a month, the equivalent of 10 euros (US$13).

  • The forgotten region

    The daily struggle for gold

    The forgotten region

    North Mara is one of the poorest and least developed regions in Tanzania. The people in the seven villages around the mine formerly mined the gold themselves. That ended when international companies came to the area in the late 1990s. Alternative activites such as crop cultivation and livestock farming bring little money.

  • Disappointment

    The daily struggle for gold

    Disappointment

    “The mine has done nothing for us,” the villagers from Kewanja complain. They have no running water, no electricity. Over 20 family members live off 300,000 Tanzanian shillings a month, around 140 euros.

  • The lost son

    The daily struggle for gold

    The lost son

    “The mines took everything from me,” says Gati Marembera Mwita. On 6 November 2012, a police officer shot and killed his son. Earlier there were reports that hundreds of intruders, mainly young men with traditional weapons, had stormed the mine. “My son wasn’t an intruder,” says his father. “He was only herding goats and sheep nearby.”

  • The rewards

    The daily struggle for gold

    The rewards

    Rock – powder – gold. The villagers have become specialists in the various production steps. Each one is dangerous. Finally, the powder containing gold is mixed with highly poisonous mercury, which binds the gold. The gram pictured hereis worth about 42,000 Tanzania shillings or 20 euros.


    Author: Julia Hahn / so | Editor : Susan Houlton