Publication. Coal industry of the United Republic of Tanzania. Part 1

13/06/2026

     Coal industry of the United Republic of Tanzania. Part 1.Review.

Despite possessing the largest coal reserves in East Africa, Tanzania's coal mining industry plays a modest role in the country's economy, overshadowed by gold, which remains the undisputed leader.
The value of coal mined in 2024 was approximately 1,036 billion Tanzanian shillings (approximately US$400 million).
Coal's share of Tanzania's GDP (value added) ranges from 0.3% to 0.6%, according to various estimates (based on the value of mining as a percentage of nominal GDP, which is approximately US$85 billion).
A more accurate calculation is based on its contribution to the mining sector coal accounts for 6-16% of total value added in mining, but the mining sector itself accounts for approximately 10% of GDP. Thus, coal directly contributes no more than 1-1.5% of the country's GDP.
For comparison, the gold sector alone accounts for over 80% of total mining production and, accordingly, approximately 8% of GDP. Coal, however, remains in the shadows.
In this review, we've attempted to examine all the key aspects of the coal industry, including reserves and their geographic location, production dynamics and capacity, types of coal mined and their characteristics, and other important factors.