Mining Licence Cancellation Tanzania: Default Notices, the 30-Day Cure and the Appeal Route

Mining licence cancellation in Tanzania is no longer a rare event. Since early 2025 the Ministry of Minerals and the Mining Commission have served hundreds of default notices and cancelled dozens of prospecting and mining licences. The stated reasons are idle areas, unpaid fees, weak local content and unmet social commitments. A licence is an asset with conditions attached, and the conditions are now enforced.

This guide explains the grounds for suspension and cancellation under the Mining Act, the default notice and the period to remedy it, who decides, how to challenge a decision, and what follows a cancellation. It covers Mainland Tanzania only. A worked example shows the money at stake when annual rent goes unpaid.

What the law says

The parent law is the Mining Act, Cap. 123 R.E. 2023, published on the Office of the Solicitor General e-Library. Section 4 defines the "licensing authority" as the Commission, including any person it authorises to perform licensing activities. The same section says a holder is "in default" when in breach of the Act, the regulations or any condition of a mineral right.

The cancellation power sits in section 74, headed "Suspension and cancellation of mineral right". The 2023 Revised Edition renumbered the Act. The same provision was section 63 in the TanzLII text of the Act as at 30 November 2019, and news reports still cite that number. We read the operative words in the 2019 text. We confirmed the 2023 section number and heading from the arrangement of sections in the official Revised Edition.

The core rules, as the 2019 text states them, are these:

• The licensing authority may suspend or cancel a mineral right by written notice if the holder fails in a material respect to comply with the Act or regulations.
• The same applies to a failure to comply with a licence condition, a lawful direction, or a condition of a certificate of surrender, exemption or consent.
• A breach of a condition in a development agreement is also a ground.
• Before acting, the authority must serve a default notice stating the grounds.
• The holder then has thirty days from service, or a longer period the authority allows, to remedy the default. Where the default cannot be remedied, the holder may offer reasonable compensation instead.
• Cancellation ends the holder's rights but not liabilities already incurred, and proceedings may still be brought against the former holder.

A separate route lets the authority cancel where the holder becomes ineligible to hold a mineral right. For joint holders, the authority may instead order the defaulting co-holder to assign its share to the others. Related sections in the 2023 edition are section 76 (appeals), section 77 (penalty for failure to pay royalty), section 80 (suspending mining operations) and section 83 (termination of a mining licence where production is insufficient).

Who should read this

• Holders of a prospecting licence (PL), mining licence (ML) or special mining licence (SML) on the Mainland.
• Primary mining licence (PML) holders, including cooperatives and small groups.
• Investors buying a company that holds a mineral right, who inherit its defaults.
• Lenders and offtakers whose security depends on the licence staying valid.
• Directors of a company that has received a default notice or a notice of breach.

Dealer, broker and lapidary licences have their own termination sections (for example section 90 for dealer licences) and are not the focus here.

What are the grounds for suspension or cancellation?

The statute frames the grounds broadly as breach. In practice the Commission's notices group them into a handful of recurring failures. The table maps each one to the provision a notice is likely to rely on.

Section 62 requires a mining licence holder to commence mining operations within eighteen months and to develop the area with due diligence. It also lists duties on demarcation, environmental protection, resettlement, training Tanzanians and local procurement. Each is a licence obligation, so each can found a default notice.

The Mining (Integrity Pledge) Regulations, 2018, GN No. 304 of 13 July 2018 go further. Regulation 14 says a holder that fails to comply with the pledge may have its licence suspended, withdrawn or cancelled, besides fines. Regulation 7(2) makes malpractice such as transfer pricing or corruption an offence with a fine of at least TZS 100 million, at least ten years' imprisonment, or both.

How does the default notice and remedy period work?

The default notice is the gateway. Without it, the Commission cannot suspend or cancel on a breach ground. The notice must state the grounds, and the clock runs from service, not from the date printed on the letter.

The holder has thirty days to remedy, or longer if the Commission allows. Remedy means curing the breach: paying the rent with any penalty, filing the missing reports, starting work, or submitting an approved plan. Where the breach cannot be cured, for example a past failure to spend, the holder may offer reasonable compensation. The 2019 text also says that, for licences other than primary licences, the matter must be referred to the Commission for advice. That wording predates the Commission becoming the licensing authority, so confirm how the 2023 text reads.

The Act we read does not set out a formal hearing. In practice the holder answers in writing within the period. In April 2025, The Chanzo reported that notices of breach went to 95 large and medium-scale holders. They had 30 days to respond and were asked for a letter of commitment stating when operations would begin. That letter is now a standard part of the response.

What is the Minister's role?

The Act names the Commission as the licensing authority. Section 21 sets out the role of the Minister, and section 23 establishes the Commission. In public, though, the Minister for Minerals announces the large clean-ups. On 15 April 2026 the Minister announced the cancellation of 40 exploration licences in Dodoma, as TanzaniaInvest reported. The Commission's website carries a news item on the cancellations, which we could not open, so we rely on press reports for the detail.

A press report also says operations must start within 18 months unless the Minister approves valid reasons through the Commission. We did not find that ministerial approval in the section text we read. Treat any request for more time as a written application to the Commission, copied to the Ministry of Minerals.

Can you appeal a cancellation, and to whom?

The text we read gives a direct route to court. A person aggrieved by a Commission decision to suspend or cancel mineral rights may apply to the High Court for judicial review within sixty days of the decision. That is section 65(1) of the 2019 text, now section 76, headed "Appeals". Subsection (2) leaves complaint and appeal procedures to regulations.

We found no statutory appeal to the Minister against a cancellation in the text we read. Holders often write to the Minister, and that letter can matter in practice, but it does not stop the 60-day clock. Separately, section 150 lets the Commission decide disputes, section 151 covers enforcement of its orders and section 152 provides an appeal to the High Court. Those cover disputes between parties, such as boundary or overlap claims, rather than cancellations.

Judicial review tests legality, procedure and reasonableness. It asks whether the notice was served, whether it stated the grounds, whether the full period was allowed and whether the response was considered. It does not rehear the merits. A cancellation challenge is litigation and belongs with an advocate from the day the notice arrives. Our guide to licence refusal and revocation appeals explains which forum hears which licence.

What happens after a mineral right is cancelled?

Liabilities survive. Cancellation ends the rights but not liabilities already incurred. Unpaid rent and royalty remain a debt recoverable in court under section 77, with the late penalty. Under the 2019 text of what is now section 83, a holder terminated for insufficient production must settle liabilities. Those include employee entitlements and mine closure and rehabilitation costs. Our guide to mine closure and rehabilitation explains why the bond outlives the licence.

The area returns to the State. The cancelled right is closed on the cadastre and the area becomes open for fresh applications. The Minister said the 40 areas cancelled in April 2026 would be reallocated, including through the Mining for a Brighter Tomorrow programme for youth and women. Fresh applications run through the Online Mining Cadastre Transactional Portal; see our guide to online cadastre applications.

Publication. Section 154 provides for registers of mineral rights, and cancellations show in the cadastre. Large batches are announced publicly. In November 2025 the government-owned Daily News reported 73 cancellations: 44 exploration and 29 medium-scale mining licences over 3,002 square kilometres. It said those followed 205 default notices issued earlier that year. We could not read the Commission's published list of licence numbers, so check the cadastre for any specific right.

Competing claims. A reopened area often attracts overlapping applications. Our guide to overlapping mineral claims explains how the Commission's cadastre resolves priority.

Do PML holders face the same process?

Yes. Section 74 applies to every mineral right, including a PML. The rent is smaller but the rules are the same: a default notice, a remedy period and then a decision. PMLs are reserved for Tanzanians, and many are held by individuals, who pay the lower 25% late penalty. Section 66 lets the Commission refuse to renew a PML where the holder is in default, but only after a default notice and a chance to remedy.

Since 2025, the Mining (Technical Support to Small Scale Miners) Regulations, 2025 let PML holders work with a technical partner under an agreement the Commission approves, as Clyde & Co summarised. The agreement does not shift the licence obligations from the holder. The Mining Commission's regulations page is the place to check current rules. For the licence itself see our primary mining licence guide.

How do local content and CSR failures lead to cancellation?

Local content was a named ground in both the 2025 and 2026 batches. The principal rules are the Mining (Local Content) Regulations, 2018, GN No. 3 of 2018. They were amended by the Mining (Local Content) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, GN No. 563 of 12 September 2025. The amendment requires a non-indigenous supplier to form a joint venture with a wholly Tanzanian-owned company holding at least 20% equity, unless the item is exempt. A revised local content plan is deemed approved fifty working days after submission if the Commission does not respond.

The amendment does not itself add a cancellation penalty. The route to cancellation is section 74: a missed plan, report or joint venture approval is a breach of the regulations. Our guide to mining local content ownership checks covers the plan, and the mining CSR guide covers council approval and annual reporting.

Worked example: unpaid annual rent and a default notice

Example: a Tanzanian company holds a mining licence over 2 square kilometres for gold in Geita region. Its annual rent anniversary is 15 March. In 2026 it did not pay. A cooperative member, an individual, also holds a 5-hectare gold PML nearby and has missed the same anniversary.

1. Rent due. ML rent for metallic minerals is USD 3,000 per km², or TZS 6,800,000 per km² in the register (F0621). For 2 km² the rent is USD 6,000 (TZS 13,600,000). PML rent for gold is TZS 90,000 per hectare (F0620), so 5 hectares cost TZS 450,000.
2. Penalty date. Ninety days after 15 March 2026 is 13 June 2026. From then the penalty under section 77 attaches.
3. Penalty amount. The company, a body corporate, owes 50%: USD 3,000 (TZS 6,800,000). The individual PML holder owes 25%: TZS 112,500.
4. Default notice. The Commission serves a default notice on the company on 9 November 2026. The thirty days run from service, so the company must remedy by 9 December 2026 unless it obtains more time in writing.
5. Remedy. The company pays USD 9,000 (TZS 20,400,000) against a control number and files the proof with a covering letter. The PML holder pays TZS 562,500.
6. If unpaid. The Commission may cancel. The USD 9,000 remains a debt, and any judicial review must be filed within 60 days of the decision.

The rent figures come from the Zatra fee register, lines F0620 and F0621. They trace to the Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations, 2018, GN No. 1 of 2018, First Schedule, as substituted and amended. The Commission's bill in the cadastre is the figure to pay; confirm the exchange rate it applies. Our guide to mining annual rent rates and due dates has the full rate table.

What should you file to remedy a default?

A remedy is an evidence file, not a promise. Match each ground in the notice to a document.

Keep proof of service and proof of delivery for every document. If you need more time, ask for it in writing before the period ends and keep the written extension.

How do you keep a mineral right safe?

• Diarise every anniversary. Rent for each licence falls due on its own date. Set reminders 60 days before each one.
• Pay through the cadastre. Use the control number and keep the receipt on the licence file.
• File reports on time. Section 125 covers reports, records and information. Late reports are a common default ground.
• Keep to the programme. Work to the approved programme of mining operations. If plans change, apply to amend it before you stop.
• Never stop quietly. Section 80 requires notice and approval before suspending production.
• Keep local content current. Submit plans and reports on schedule and get joint venture approvals before work starts.
• Prepare for inspections. Our guide to Mining Commission inspections lists what inspectors ask to see.

Renewal is the other pressure point. Under section 63 the Commission may refuse to renew a mining licence where the holder is in default, after notice and a chance to remedy. See our guide to renewing or transferring a mining licence.

Mainland and Zanzibar

The Mining Act, Cap. 123 applies to Mainland Tanzania, and the Mining Commission is a Mainland body. This guide does not cover Zanzibar. The Citizen reported on 28 November 2024 that Zanzibar was preparing its own mining law. We could not confirm the enacted title, Act number, commencement date or regulator of a Zanzibar Mining Act 2024. Anyone holding or seeking rights in Unguja or Pemba should confirm the position with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.

What to do now

1. Check your status. Log in to the cadastre portal and confirm each licence is active, with no arrears or open notices.
2. Log the date of service. If a notice has arrived, record the date it was received and calculate the thirtieth day from that date.
3. Map each ground. List every ground in the notice and the document that cures it, using the table above.
4. Pay first. Clear rent, royalty and penalty against the control number, since payment is the easiest ground to close.
5. Respond in writing. File the cure evidence, a letter of commitment and any request for more time before the period ends.
6. Brief an advocate. Send the notice to an advocate at once, so a judicial review can be filed within 60 days if the Commission cancels.
7. Fix the system. Set up a compliance calendar covering rent, reports, local content and the programme of mining operations.

Key dates and deadlines

How Zatra helps

Zatra reviews default notices, builds the cure file, prepares the payment and response letters, and sets up compliance calendars for rent, reports and local content. Our sector permits service covers the licence file. For the wider sector see the Tanzania mining guide and our mining licence guide.

There are two cost buckets. Government charges, including rent, royalty and penalties, are paid to the Mining Commission at the official rate against a control number, with no mark-up. They are separate from Zatra's professional fee, which we quote in writing before work starts. Zatra prepares and files the response. It does not decide or guarantee any authority's outcome. Judicial review, disputes and legal opinions go to an advocate. To start, contact Zatra with your licence number and a copy of the notice.

Sources and status

Accurate as at 12 November 2026.

• The Mining Act, Chapter 123 R.E. 2023. Office of the Attorney General, Government Printer, OSG e-Library item dated 1 July 2025. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Mining Act, 2010, consolidated text as at 30 November 2019. TanzLII, 2019. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations, 2018, GN No. 1. Government Gazette, 10 January 2018, TanzLII copy. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Mining (Integrity Pledge) Regulations, 2018, GN No. 304. Government Gazette, 13 July 2018, FB Attorneys copy. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Mining (Local Content) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, GN No. 563. Government Gazette, 12 September 2025, FB Attorneys copy. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• News item on licence cancellations. Mining Commission, 2026 (not opened). Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Regulations. Mining Commission, web page, 2026. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Online Mining Cadastre Transactional Portal. Ministry of Minerals and Mining Commission, 2026. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Tanzania cancels 73 mining licences. Daily News, 25 November 2025. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Tanzania cancels 40 mineral exploration licenses over non-compliance. TanzaniaInvest, 16 April 2026. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Tanzania enacts the Mining (Technical Support to Small Scale Miners) Regulations, 2025. Clyde & Co, 16 May 2025. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• Government cracks down on dormant mining licenses. The Chanzo, 7 May 2025. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.
• How Zanzibar hopes to promote economic growth with mining law. The Citizen, 28 November 2024. Accessed 12 Nov 2026.

Figures to confirm before you act

• The operative wording of section 74 in the 2023 Revised Edition, including whether the reference to the Commission's advice survives. We read the words in the 2019 text, then section 63.
• The operative text of sections 76, 77, 80, 83, 150 and 152 in the 2023 edition. We confirmed their headings only and read the 2019 equivalents.
• Any regulations made under section 76(2) on complaint and appeal procedures.
• The annual rent due date for each licence, as shown on the cadastre bill, and the exchange rate the Commission applies.
• The licence numbers in the Commission's published cancellation lists of November 2025 and April 2026.
• Whether the Minister has any statutory role in extending the 18-month commencement period.
• The enacted title, number, regulator and cancellation rules of any Zanzibar mining law.

This article is general information based on official sources available at the date of publication. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and notices change. Verify with the issuing authority or consult Zatra before acting.