• The Tax Authority is preparing a Mineral Atlas to consolidate geological, chemical, and economic data on minerals with industrial and commercial potential.

• The tool is designed to support harmonised classification criteria, revision of tax rates, and the implementation of reference prices for minerals.

• The initiative follows AT’s recovery of 301.3 million meticais in mining tax debts and identification of 2 billion meticais owed over the past five years.

Mozambique’s Tax Authority (AT) has initiated a consultation process to establish a national Mineral Atlas to centralise data on mineral resources and improve the taxation of mining activities. According to the institution, the document is being developed in coordination with the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, through the National Mining Institute (INAMI) and the Kimberley Process Management Unit (UGPK), with technical support from the Efficient Taxation for Inclusive Development Programme (TEDI).

The Atlas brings together geological, chemical, and economic information on minerals and rocks with industrial and commercial potential. The AT, as quoted by the Club of Mozambique, said the instrument is intended to harmonize classification standards, support revisions to tax rates, and consolidate data needed for fiscal transparency in the extractive sector. The final version will also include laboratory analyses of minerals found in Mozambique.

According to AT data published earlier, the authority identified 2 billion meticais in unpaid mining surface fees and production taxes over the past five years. In the first half of the year, the government issued 1,858 mining licenses and recovered 301.3 million meticais in overdue taxes. A further 223.4 million meticais in enforceable guarantees were recorded to support the rehabilitation and closure of abandoned mines.

The Mineral Atlas is being developed amid tightening controls on the extractive sector. In March, the government announced new rules governing the use of mineral and energy resources and highlighted its intention to free areas classified as “idle” for exploitation. Mozambique had approximately 3,000 exploration licenses under its mining and energy portfolio.

By consolidating reference prices, identification data, and regions of mineral occurrence, the Mineral Atlas will serve as a unified technical basis for determining the value of mining products and supporting the efficient taxation of mining operations, according to reporting by The Club of Mozambique.

By Cynthia Ebot Takang