Acacia Suffers Annual Loss In Tanzania After Gold, Copper Export Ban

Profit graph of London-based company Acacia Mining has taken a southward turn in 2017 in Tanzania. It plunged a loss of more than $700m following ban of gold and copper exports by the government since March.

In the month of May shares of the company dropped about 30 percent amid bitter row with the President John Magufuli government.

Acacia then said the value of minerals within concentrates in Dar es Salaam port containers was over ten times than what was declared earlier.

Earlier the government had sacked minister of mines, Sospeter Muhongo, finding wrong doing in the audits.

Barrick Gold owns 44 percent of the shares of Acacia and the company has operating mines in north-west Tanzania.

Magufuli took office 18 months ago promising zero tolerance towards corruption. He had sacked many civil servants for submitting fake documents and hundreds of ghost workers too. He is known as bulldozer by opposite parties due to his strict and bold decisions including restrictions on foreign trips of ministers unless it is very necessary.

Earlier, Magufuli cracked down heavily on civil servants too with removal of about 10,000 workers who had been found to have submitted fake academic as well as professional certificates.