Marvel Gold

Dirt road leading to Mt Hanang at dusk, Tanzania

About 1.98 million ounces produced in 2024 (61.7 tonnes), placing Tanzania among Africa's largest gold producers.*

Gold output

More than 70 million ounces commonly cited across the Lake Victoria Goldfields, with six large-scale gold mines operating.

The endowment

30% of taxable income - the main charge calculated on profit.

Corporate tax

6% royalty on gross value plus a 1% inspection and clearing fee on exports. Both apply to revenue, not profit.

Gold royalty and export fee

A minimum 16% non-dilutable free-carried interest in the mining company, applying at mining licence stage.

State participation

Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti and Perseus all commit capital under the current regime.

The majors are here

Tanzania amended the Mining Act and passed laws asserting permanent sovereignty over natural resources and allowing review of agreements considered unconscionable. State participation was strengthened.

2017: the reset

A ban on copper-gold concentrate exports and a major dispute with Acacia Mining disrupted operations and confidence. Exploration capital largely left - one 2020 industry update described a four-to-five-year exploration hiatus.

2017-2019: the disruption

Barrick acquired Acacia's minority interests, formed the Twiga partnership with the Government and negotiated a resolution. The concentrate ban lifted and operations restarted.

2019-2020: the settlement

The State Participation Regulations supplied detailed templates for joint ventures, framework agreements and shareholder rights, giving today's regime clearer mechanics.

2022: the rulebook

Tim Strong

Executive Director

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Tanzania 101

Marvel Gold Limited (ASX:MVL)

Montserrat

ASX:MVL

What Marvel Gold shareholders should know about the jurisdiction

Owning an explorer means owning geology and jurisdiction risk together. For Marvel shareholders, Tanzania's settings determine how exploration rights are held, what a future mine would pay, how the State participates and how projects move through approvals. The country has large gold systems and long-running mines, but it also went through a sharp policy reset from 2017. Understanding both sides puts Hanang in context without pretending jurisdiction risk is zero.

Tanzania's gold story is written in old rocks. The Lake Victoria region contains Archean greenstone belts and banded iron formations that host most of the country's best-known deposits. Industry disclosures commonly cite more than 70 million ounces of gold across the broader goldfield, and the Ministry of Minerals identifies further gold and base-metal settings in the Proterozoic rocks of south-west Tanzania.

Modern exploration accelerated after policy reforms in the late 1990s, followed by the development of large mines around Geita, Bulyanhulu and North Mara. By 2024, Tanzania was producing close to 2 million ounces of gold a year.

The endowment is not evenly explored. Work has historically concentrated around the established Lake Victoria camps, leaving other greenstone belts with less modern drilling and geophysics. That creates exploration opportunity, but geology alone does not remove the legal, funding or execution risks of turning a target into a mine.

 Mining companies generally pay 30% corporate income tax on taxable income. Gold also attracts a 6% royalty on gross value, plus a 1% inspection and clearing fee on mineral exports. The distinction matters: corporate tax is based on profit, while the royalty and export fee apply before profit is calculated. A mine can owe royalty and inspection fees in a period when its taxable profit is low or nil.

 For a mining licence or special mining licence, the Government is entitled to not less than 16% non-dilutable free-carried interest in the mining company. "Free carried" means the Government receives shareholder rights without subscribing or contributing equity capital for those shares. "Non-dilutable" means later equity issues cannot reduce the Government's minimum percentage.

The 2022 State Participation Regulations set out the structure. A Tanzanian joint-venture company is established with the Government as shareholder, the mining licence is issued to that company, and mineral-sale proceeds are held in Tanzanian accounts. The Government's interest sits in the local project company, not in the foreign-listed parent.

The Mining Act also allows the Government to acquire additional shares, up to 50% in total, where linked to tax expenditure or incentives provided to the mining company.

 The requirement for a framework agreement, shareholders' agreement and joint financial model is statutory, but the terms inside those documents are negotiated. They settle governance, economic-benefit sharing and project-specific arrangements, including any interest above the statutory floor. Barrick's Twiga arrangement includes a negotiated 50-50 sharing of economic benefits - that is a settlement-specific structure, not the automatic rule for every Tanzanian mine.

A simple example: if a listed parent initially owns 100% of the local mining company and the Government receives 16%, the parent's interest in that company becomes 84%. Investors still own the same percentage of the listed parent, but the parent's indirect project ownership is 84%, before taxes, royalties or any additional agreed State interest.

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Does the Tanzanian Government receive 16% of the listed parent company?

Questions about Tanzania or Hanang? Ask them directly on the hub - the Marvel team answers here.

Sources