Geita Region
Geita Region (''Mkoa wa Geita'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of ...
in northwestern
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
. The city is known for its gold trade. Geita, with a population of 318,006 (2022 census), is located in the centre of a gold mining area.
History
In the late nineteenth century, German mineral prospecting identified the gold deposits in the region in the late nineteenth century. However, plans for large-scale gold mining was disrupted due the
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Tanzania, which was part of the
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; ) was a German colonial empire, German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Portugu ...
colony, was granted to Britain after the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...
.
The British developed the mine in 1934, and started a large-scale gold mine in 1936. Until its closure in 1966, the Geita mine was the largest gold mine in eastern Africa. Between 1936 and 1961, the year of Tanzania's colonial independence, artisanal mining in the region was made illegal.
Geita regained further prominence in the mid to late 1990s when the Tanzanian government opened the mineral sector to foreign investment. A number of
medium
Medium may refer to:
Aircraft
*Medium bomber, a class of warplane
* Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film
* ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
to large-scale
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
houses, including Ashanti and
Anglo-American
Anglo-American can refer to:
* the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world)
* Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America
** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America
* Anglo American plc
Anglo American plc is a ...
, conducted extensive exploration activities in the surrounding areas. The most significant outcome of those activities was the construction of the Geita Gold Mine, now owned by
AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a South African gold mining company, with global operations. With a diverse portfolio of cooperation, projects, and exploration activities, AngloGold Ashanti was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the ...
. The
Geita Gold Mine
The Geita Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine located in the Geita District of the Geita Region (formerly part of the Mwanza Region) of Tanzania. It is operated by AngloGold Ashanti.Rwamagasa and Matabe. These
gold rush
A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...
es have attracted tens of thousands of prospectors from all around the country. Being subsistence miners, their activities are highly unregulated, resulting in dangerous mining practices and considerable environmental destruction, not the least of which are increased
mercury pollution
Mercury is a chemical element; it has symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver. A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is known to be liquid at standard temperature and pressure; t ...
and extensive deforestation.
In March 2012, it became the administrative headquarters of the newly created
Geita Region
Geita Region (''Mkoa wa Geita'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of ...