Tanzania to Pay Market Prices to Miners Ordered to Sell Gold to Central Bank

Tanzania’s central bank said it will buy gold at market prices from mining firms and traders who were ordered last week to sell it at least 20% of the gold they hold to help diversify its reserves.

The central bank will also offer reduced fees and faster payment processing as part of the gold purchase program, it said in a public notice on Oct. 1.

Major gold producers in the nation include AngloGold Ashanti Plc and Barrick Gold Corp.

The central bank started buying gold from miners in 2023 as a diversification strategy to help support Tanzania’s shilling, which has depreciated almost 8% against the dollar this year.

Uganda, Madagascar and Ghana also have programs to buy gold from miners to hedge against geopolitical tensions that have battered their currencies.

African nations were among the worst affected by the supply-chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, war in Ukraine and a steep increase in global interest rates that undermined their currencies and stoked inflation. The region remains vulnerable to risk-off sentiment among investors after conflict flared in the Middle East.

This story originated on Bloomberg.