China’s Oriental Casting and Forging Ltd plans to build a factory for steel grinding balls and other mining consumables at the Buzwagi Special Economic Zone in Kahama, Shinyanga Region.
The plan follows a recent meeting between the Minister of Minerals, Anthony Mavunde, and the owner and Managing Director of Oriental Casting and Forging, Hou Songcun.
Steel grinding balls are consumables used in mineral processing plants to crush and grind ore, a supply Tanzanian mines currently meet largely through imports.
The Government wants the consumables produced locally to cut import dependence, strengthen supply chains and add industrial value to the mining sector.
The Ministry said the goal is for Tanzania to become a regional production and distribution hub that supplies mining products across Africa, allowing both large and small miners to source them without importing.
The value of the planned investment, the number of jobs and a construction timeline were not disclosed.
Buzwagi Special Economic Zone
The Buzwagi Special Economic Zone occupies the site of the former Buzwagi gold mine, about six kilometres from Kahama in Shinyanga Region.
The open-pit mine, operated by Barrick, closed in 2022 after about 13 years of production, and the site is being redeveloped as an industrial zone intended to replace the mine as the region’s economic driver.
