The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, a World Bank tribunal, has ordered the Tanzanian government to pay $109.5 million (Sh265 billion) as restitution for a breach of contract to a foreign investor.
An overseas investor, Indiana Resources Limited, an exploration firm with headquarters in Australia, filed a complaint against Tanzania, which led to the arbitration procedures.
On July 14, 2023, the Tribunal issued its decision, according to which Tanzania was required to compensate the claimants who had taken the government to court internationally after Magufuli's administration decided to revoke their nickel mining Retention Licence in 2018 with more than US$109.5 million (including accrued interest) for the illegal expropriation of Ntaka Hill.
Tanzania granted the Project a 5-year retention license on April 21, 2015, which covered the same territory as the Ntaka Hill Prospecting Licence.
The statutory foundation for the classification of Retention Licences was eliminated by the Tanzanian government's amendment to the Mining Act 2010 in July 2017, however, no successor classification was introduced.
Tanzania published the Mining (Mineral Rights) Regulations 2018 on January 10, 2018, which made it clear that all Retention Licences were void and that the Government of Tanzania now owned the underlying rights to all areas covered by Retention Licences, including the one held for the project.
The business actively worked with the Tanzanian Minister for Minerals and the Mining Commission between January 2018 and December 2019 in an effort to find an acceptable tenure structure for the project license to be reactivated.
The claimants' representatives and Indiana board members who traveled to Tanzania for collaborative engagement with the government are said to have received assurances from Tanzanian government representatives at all times that their historical investment would be recognized and that their rights would be upheld and protected.
The collaborative development of the regions formerly covered by Retention Licences was published as a public call to tender on December 19, 2019, by the Tanzanian Mining Commission.
The winning bidder was required to reimburse the prior retention license holder for the expenses of its exploration under the terms of this original call to tender.
The Mining Commission of Tanzania announced a revised public invitation to tender on December 20, 2019, one day after that initial announcement. This revision removed the requirement that the winning bidder reimburses the previous retention license holder for its incurred exploration costs.