The Ministry of Mines said yesterday that regional branches of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Hawassa, Jimma, Mekelle ans Assossa would start buying gold from suppliers as of October 3.

It was reported in mid July that artisan miners produced and supplied about 7,000 kg of gold to the National Bank of Ethiopia in the fiscal year to 7 July 2011. The amount was up by 144 percent from their output of 2,866kg of gold the previous fiscal year according to Sinkinesh Ejigu.

Sinknesh said that the amount of gold from artisan miners would grow to 13,000kg during the current fiscal year.

Last fiscal year, Ethiopia earned 175 million dollars from the export of 3.6 tonnes of gold (153 million dollars) and 187 tonnes of tantalum (22.5 million dollars).

Late in August, the Ministry of Mines announced that it had secured more than 509 million dollars from the mining sector during in the last fiscal year.

The amount was secured from gold, tantalum and gemstone producing companies and traditional miners, Sinknesh said.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency