2merkato

An exporter of precious minerals and tantalum, Great Wall, is engaged in discussions with international firms to partner in exploration and extraction of precious minerals in Ethiopia.

Great Wall is talking to currently undiclosed Chinese and Turkish companies interested in deep pit mining for Agate, Amber, Amazonite and Tormaline when the stay on mining licenses in Ethiopia is lifted.

The exporter is also in negotiations for a collaborative venture to explore, extract and export Tantalum and Quartz with other, unnamed, Chinese and Turkish companies.

The Ethiopian Minerals Development Enterprise S.C. has shelved it construction material plant project proposed in the Afar Regional State due to lack of finance.

The Ethiopian Privatization and Public Enterprises Agency (PPESA) passed its decision to suspend the project as the enterprise is planning to build a tantalum manufacturing plant at the Kenticha tantalum mine and it would be difficult to undergo the two projects together.

The mining sector in Ethiopia earned 293 million US dollars over the last two quarters according to the Ministry of Mines. 218.2 million US dollars of the revenue was earned by Artisan miners.

The mining exports included Gold (5484 kg), Tantalum (145 tons), Jewels and Minerals (7339 kg) Marble (532m3) and Platinum (350g).

Additional income of 600 thousand dollars was earned by geological surveys carried out by the Ministry of Mines according to Bacha Faji, Department Head of Public Relations and Communication with the MoM. The ministry conducted 22,409 mining samples he noted.

The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MoUDH) revealed its plan to build a total of 2.4 million houses at a national level in the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II) period yesterday at a three-day national conference, Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Development denied rumors about wheat scarcity on the local market. The Ministry said that it had distributed 8 million quintals contributing to the decline in the inflation of food items for the month of December.

Rumors that a shortage of wheat could translate into a scarcity of bread on the market in the next 2 weeks are unfounded said the Ministry.

There is currently 2 million quintals of wheat in stock and the government intends to supply a total of 4 million quintals to the market within  the first week of the coming February said Haji Mohammed, Head of Public Relations with MoFED.