Amigo Resources Plc has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tanzania's State Mining Corporation to evaluate whether graphite can be recovered commercially from tailings, dumps and stockpiles in Tanzania.

The agreement gives Amigo exclusivity in discussions with third parties while the company and STAMICO negotiate a formal contract. STAMICO, the state-owned mining company responsible for advancing sector development, will coordinate with relevant government bodies and local artisanal miners during the process. Amigo will lead and fund the technical due diligence programme.

The work will include sampling, metallurgical testing and independent laboratory analysis of graphite-bearing material. The commercial premise is straightforward: materials historically treated as waste may contain recoverable graphite that could be turned into a marketable mineral product. The source did not disclose an investment amount, a target resource, production volumes or expected economic returns.

That absence of numbers matters because the MoU is still an evaluation step rather than a project sanction. African Mining Market reported that the agreement is non-binding on project development, although provisions covering exclusivity, confidentiality, costs and dispute resolution are legally binding. The project's viability will depend on satisfactory due diligence results and the negotiation of definitive agreements.

For Tanzania's mining sector, the announcement fits two policy and commercial themes already visible in the market: critical minerals and local participation around mineral value chains. Graphite is a battery mineral, and Tanzania has been positioning itself more actively around minerals that can feed energy-transition supply chains. A tailings recovery model would be different from a conventional mine development because it starts with existing waste material rather than a new orebody.

The local-miner angle is also important. The source said STAMICO will coordinate with local artisanal miners and that the proposed work could generate new income opportunities for eligible local miners and material owners. That keeps the story within Tanzania's broader push to increase domestic benefit from mineral resources, while leaving the key commercial question open: whether the technical due diligence can prove that the material has enough value to support a formal project.