Tanzania’s uranium cycle takes shape: What is happening in the industry in 2026

DAR ES SALAAM: For decades, Tanzania’s uranium story is one of meaningful. The country has significant mineral resources, substantial industrial potential and a strategic location as demand for reliable energy grows. Yet Tanzania has never produced uranium on an industrial scale. In 2026, that long pause is beginning to look different. Exploration demonstrates the potential, processing is being successfully tested, projects are moving forward, and uranium is increasingly being discussed alongside Tanzania’s future energy needs.

According to OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) data, Tanzania has approximately 58,000 tonnes of identified uranium resources at a price of up to US$130 per kilogram, putting it 14th in the world. Deposits and prospects include Mkuju River, Bahi, Manyoni, Songea, Madaba, Mbulu and areas around Lake Natron, with both primary and near-surface deposits.

Why has such a resource remained largely untouched? The answer is economics. The uranium price boom of 2007 was followed by the global financial crisis, while the Fukushima accident in 2011 contributed to a slowdown in nuclear investment. Capital-intensive uranium projects became harder to finance as demand expectations weakened.

The market is now changing. Nuclear power is returning to national energy str—–++ategies, while governments are paying greater attention to energy security, supply chains and long-term fuel availability. The World Bank’s return to financing nuclear projects in 2024 and new nuclear construction in countries such as the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan point to a broader revival. Several African countries are also exploring nuclear programmes.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev described the shift in an interview with Al Jazeera, “Everyone understood how important it is to have independent sovereign energy sources on their territory and to be minimally dependent on regional and global conflicts, price volatility and logistical risks.”

For uranium-producing countries, this creates a more favourable long-term environment.

Tanzania’s sector is now moving on several fronts. The most advanced project is Mkuju River in Namtumbo District. The project, being implemented by Mantra Tanzania, a subsidiary of Uranium One, part of Rosatom, aims to establish an industrial complex at the Nyota deposit with a planned capacity of up to 3,000 tonnes of uranium per year. In July 2025, a pilot uranium processing plant was commissioned. The main industrial complex is scheduled to be commissioned in 2029. Several other projects, for example, Manyoni, are keeping exploration active, with companies assessing licences, resources and potential partnerships.

But the biggest change may be taking place beyond the mining sector. Uranium is increasingly being considered both as an export commodity and as a potential resource for Tanzania’s own energy future. Speaking in Dar es Salaam on 24 May 2025, President Samia Suluhu Hassan noted: “Oftentimes, when we talk about renewable energy, we focus on solar, wind, and other things. For a very long time, we have been made to believe that generating electricity from uranium is dangerous, yet developed countries are using it, and it is a major source of electricity”.

A year later, at the NEISA 2026 summit in Kigali, the idea had moved towards an institutional programme. Tanzania reported installed generation capacity of more than 4,500 MW, with demand projected to reach 8,000 MW by 2030 and 70,000 MW by 2050. The country has outlined an “ambitious national roadmap” for 1,000–1,200 MW of nuclear capacity over the next decade, following the IAEA phased approach, and established a National Nuclear Energy Implementation Organisation, or NAPO.

Turning uranium potential into an industry, however, requires more than deposits and investment. It needs expertise in radiometric exploration, geology, hydrology, processing, radiation safety and environmental monitoring. It also requires institutions able to oversee the entire chain and a workforce capable of supporting it. Head of the Department of Ionizing Radiation at the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission Dennis Mwalongo highlighted this challenge in the IAEA Bulletin: “Introducing uranium mining requires longterm planning, which includes surveys of the selected exploration sites, soil assessments, building public awareness and capacity building.”

That focus on local skills is important as Tanzania develops its Country Mining Vision within the broader Africa Mining Vision framework. The goal is to increase local content, value addition and national participation in the mining economy.

The uranium sector therefore enters 2026 with several tracks running in parallel: significant resources, licences and exploration programmes at different stages, an advanced industrial project, growing institutional interest in nuclear power and a more supportive global market. The next five to ten years will show whether these pieces can be brought together. For Tanzania, the challenge is no longer simply proving that uranium exists. It is building the infrastructure, skills, institutions and value chain needed to turn a uranium resource into a functioning industry – and potentially make uranium part of the country’s long-term energy future.

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