Totally agreed. My own take is this is to force mining companies to the table. There is certainly likely to be movement either from company or from gvt on the ban. If media reports are anything to go by- it is indeed odd to try to address issues around mineral and tax auditing through the use of an export ban. My only question is if the previous study on viability of beneficiation covered other minerals besides copper?

You can find the report on the viability of a copper concentrate smelter here Gilbert. It was produced by the Tanzanian Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA), in 2011. TMAA is the agency that samples the contents of each container of concentrate before export, in order to determine royalty payments and to measure production. 

It is my correct submission that Tanzania has had changed political environment right from the highest level of government. The government, to my understanding, would be interested in taking stock of mining activities that previously were conducted with relatively inadequate transparency. Vital information regarding  Acacia business of copper concentrates export seem jetting out, after the ban, to public domain. The new Government does no longer entertain business as usual mentality among its personnel. The high level technical committee has been constituted by President and assigned to conduct technical/content auditing of copper concentrates that were about to be shipped to China/Japan/Germany. Let's give Government time to work through this Acacia copper concentrates export riddle.         

Thanks a lot Peter Boffin.

A great posting, Anton, thanks for sharing and very interesting to see how this OpenOil case study of Bulyanhulu is continuing to develop.

Your OpenOil.net article reports on beneficiation.  More on this important topic below, via http://allafrica.com/stories/201704040052.html

'Zitto Kabwe, who was a member of the Bomani Committee, a special team, tasked with reviewing the mining sector said that all issues related to the concentrate were recommended by the committee report and included in the mining policy but were not implemented.

"I support the idea that we must set up our own smelter in Tanzania instead of exporting gold and copper concentrates to Japan and China. But it is important for such a decision to be backed by scientific evidence instead of President Magufuli's directives, whose impact is adverse to the country,"'

I will now go on to read the NRGI report linked to by yourselves re. Tanzania and beneficiation: "The Challenge of Adding Value in Tanzania's Mining Sector"; http://www.resourcegovernance.org/blog/challenge-adding-value-tanzania’s-mining-sector

Thank you once again.