The Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) is concerned about the poor contribution of artisanal mining to the state coffers, due to the persistence of illegality and informality in the sector.

The concern was expressed yesterday, in Maputo province, by the permanent secretary of MIREME, Teodoro Vales, during the opening of the regional workshop on artisanal and small-scale mining for the Southern African region, an event that brought together 45 participants from countries in the region and representatives of national geological services.

"We are concerned because the contribution of this production to the state coffers is insignificant in Mozambique. Illegality and informality persists in this sector," said the source quoted by AIM.

To reverse this scenario, MIREME is developing actions aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of small-scale artisanal mining, namely a census of artisanal miners with the objective of collecting statistical data about the activity in the country, as well as mapping the mineral smuggling routes to stop the traffic.