BABATI: THE Itracom Fertilizers Limited’s phosphate mine in Vilima Vitatu, Babati District, Manyara Region, has launched construction of a new major processing plant to ramp up production of key raw materials used in manufacturing a wide range of fertilizers.
The mine is involved in the extraction and processing of phosphate minerals.
The company’s Deputy Director, Nestor Nibitanga, said the mine currently operates one processing plant, which is no longer sufficient to meet market demand due to the rising need for fertilizers both domestically and internationally.
Elaborating, he said that they plan to add three more plants to reach a total of four, a move that will increase both the speed and volume of production.
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“Presently we produce between 400 and 700 tonnes per day, but market demand is much higher,” he said.
Additionally, he said that before officially commencing mining operations, the company paid compensation totaling 4.9bn/- to 567 residents who vacated the project area, where the compensation covered houses, trees, and relocated graves, as well as the construction of a new primary school to replace the previous one.
He also said that they built a new school at 1.5bn/- to ensure that communities living near the project are not directly affected.
Moreover, he said that since the project began, its benefits have been visible not only to the surrounding community but also to the agricultural sector through the availability of raw materials and quality fertilizers.
“We are planning to expand investment scope by starting the production of complete fertilizers instead of focusing solely on raw materials, and this initiative will reduce dependence on imported inputs,” he said.
He added, “Our goal is to become self-reliant by producing complete fertilizers locally. Furthermore, quality fertilizer requires quality seeds, so we also plan to invest in seed production.”
He clarified that the fertilizer produced by the company contains a blend of 50 percent natural raw materials and 50 percent minerals, a composition that helps preserve soil fertility, unlike some purely mineral-based fertilizers that may negatively affect soil quality over time.