Kiwira Coal Mine

This article is part of the Global Coal Mine Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Download full dataset

Report an error

Sub-articles:

Global coal mines Coal mines in China Coal mines in India Coal mines in the United States Coal mines in Australia Coal mines in Russia Coal mines in Indonesia

Related-articles:

Largest coal mines in the world Coal mine impacts from Covid-19 Environmental issues of coal Coal mining Coal reserves Coal terminals

Kiwira Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Mbeya City, Ileje, Rungwe, Tanzania.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kiwira Coal Mine	Mbeya City, Ileje, Rungwe, Tanzania	-9.4827, 33.676 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1988	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
1.25	–	–	Underground & Surface	Mixed	–	60*	454.7167899*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt)	Year of Total Reserves Recorded	Total Resources (Mt)	Coalfield	Coal Type	Coal Grade	Primary Consumer/ Destination
–	–	300	Songwe-Kiwara	Subbituminous	Thermal & Met	Coal Plant

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Note: To access more comprehensive data on energy ownership, please visit the Global Energy Ownership Tracker.

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
State Mining Corporation of Tanzania [100.0%]	State Mining Corporation of Tanzania [100%]	Tanzania

Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Background

The Kiwira Coal Mine (also known as the "Kibula-Kiwira mine") is located in Tanzania's Songwe-Kiwira Coalfield in East Africa. The area was developed in 1988 by the State Mining Corporation of Tanzania (STAMICO) with Chinese assistance.

Kiwira remained under STAMICO's state ownership until 2005, when it was privatized and acquired by TanPower Resources Limited.

Operations at the mine ceased in 2013, and all workers were laid off. However, in 2019, the Tanzanian president directed the transfer of all Kiwira shares still held by the initial investor, TanPower Resources, back to the government to pave the way for a fresh sale to potential new investors. Mining operations restarted soon after that—around 2022—with STAMICO still responsible for the mine.

While current coal production rates are unknown, as of 2011, the mine produced 96,000 tonnes annually. The majority of the Kiwira mine's coal is consumed locally at a coal-fired power generating plant. It was announced in September 2011 that the mine would be run by the Chinese government, which invested 400 million US dollars in the mining project.

Citizens Groups Campaigning on Climate Change

• Earthlife Africa
• Climate Justice Now
• groundWork
• Federation for a Sustainable Environment

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.