DAR ES SALAAM, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's mining sector contribution to the national economy increased to 7.3 percent in 2021 from 6.5 percent recorded in 2020, an official said on Thursday.

Doto Biteko, the east African nation's Minister for Minerals, said the government's projection is to see the mining sector contributes 10 percent to the national economy by 2025 but this could be realized much earlier.

Biteko told a press conference in the capital Dodoma that the mining sector made history in the past one year when mineral sales reached 8.3 trillion Tanzanian shillings (about 3.6 billion U.S. dollars) and the government collected 597.53 billion Tanzanian shillings in taxes and royalties.

Biteko said Tanzanians' participation in the mining sector services increased from 43 percent to 63 percent when mining services collections were 579.3 million U.S. dollars.

He attributed achievements in the mining sector to reforms undertaken under the administration of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, including the improvement of mining conditions for artisanal miners who contributed to 30 percent of mining activities in the country.

Biteko said the reforms have led to the creation of at least 44 gold trading centers and 70 other minerals trading centers across the country which have helped to stop smuggling of minerals outside the country. - Xinhua