Tanzania needs help jumpstarting the extraction of its uranium resources and now must invest in nuclear technology by training its own experts, according to nuclear physicist Prof. John Kondoro. If Tanzania fails to do so, the country could be surpassed by neighboring countries.
Kondoro said despite the huge reserves, Tanzania lagged behind in nuclear technology because there is an insufficient number of experts, laboratories, and equipment. "We need a nuclear (science and technology) policy as well as new energy policy that will speak loud on the need to shift to energy generation from nuclear sources," he stressed.
It was recently reported that about 36 million pounds of uranium deposits had been discovered at Mkuju river valley in Namtumbo District, Ruvuma Region with officials of MANTRA, an Australian minerals exploration firm, quoted as saying the area’s deposits were enough to make the country one of the leaders in uranium production in Africa.