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Half a Ton of Gold Escapes Fiscal Control

Half a Ton of Gold Escapes Fiscal Control

Every year, the Mozambican state loses about half a ton of gold valued at 24 million dollars, and unspecified quantities of rubies, due to the illegal export circuit.

The smuggling of these ores is known to the authorities, but due to the weak inspection capacity and full control of the activity from the extraction process, possession and circulation, the State adds up losses in revenue from the activity.

The inspector general of Mineral Resources and Energy, Obede Matine, recognized the problem during an interview he recently gave to AIM about the independent inspection of mining activity in Mozambique.

“What we have been able to collect now in gold which is around half a ton a year, must be 50% of what we could collect. In this case, we can say that we lose about half a ton of gold per year,” said the inspector.

According to the source, in a desirable situation, in which the inspection activities in the field and the power of the state are enhanced, the circulation of gold, which is then exported illegally, would enter the legal circuit. Consequently, the collections would be around one ton per year, considering the gold content between 80 and 90%.

“If this product entered the state, how much would [Estrado] receive in taxes? But since this gold doesn’t enter the legal circuit it is a loss for the state because the people involved in this business don’t pay anything but feed the smuggling,” Matine vindicated.

Despite the difficulties that the inspectorate faces to fully perform its activities, there is an extensive work underway with different institutions to combat the smuggling of gold and other precious minerals.

These are the Natural Resources Protection Police and the Attorney General’s Office, whose actions have resulted in some seizures. “There were seizures of rubies in Cabo Delgado province that are not yet valued. We have the seizure of about 21 kilos of gold that we can value to see what it means financially,” he said.

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According to the inspector, there are situations in which the traffickers in the Mozambican mining sector have the connivance of the local authorities, namely chiefs, post chiefs, and community leaders at the level of localities where the ores occur, which has hindered the inspection activity.

“We call for greater coordination between local authorities and inspection activity. Traffickers don’t just appear out of nowhere in communities. There needs to be denunciation. We have already had situations of denunciation and, recently, we went to dismantle an activity in Tete, where someone was illegally installing extraction equipment,” he explained.

The independent inspection activity is in a process of structuring and installation by the provinces and it is believed that it will have a positive impact on the control of mining activity in Mozambique.

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