Rwanda’s economy is primarily dominated by agriculture. Approximately 90% of the labor force is employed in the farms and agriculture accounts for about 32.5% of the GDP (2014). However, Rwanda is a small country whose geography is dominated by mountains, especially in the west, and savanna in the east. Because of the nature of its geography, the country’s agricultural sectors have been affected by the lack of sufficient land for agriculture.
The country’s primary exports are coffee, tea, pyrethrum extract, tin, tantalite, and gold. Imports include machinery and equipment, petroleum products, and foodstuffs. Important trading partners include Kenya, Tanzania, China, and Uganda. Some efforts have been made at promoting closer economic links between Rwanda and its neighbors through such organizations as the Economic Community of Great Lakes Countries, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the East African Community. Similarly, Rwanda is a member of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, a cartel-like association or economic bloc that is linked to the European Communities by signatures on the Lomé Conventions and the Georgetown Agreement. While official estimates of poverty in 2001 put the number of people below a poverty line of Rwf 64,000 at 60.2 per cent having declined from 77 per cent after the genocide. It is also noteworthy that genocide besides resulting in wrongful death to about 1 million people pushed down GDP by 50 per cent. It also triggered an unprecedented population movement involving inflows and outflows of more than 40 per cent of the population. Massive population displacements, accommodating returnees while at the same time engaging in national reconstruction efforts imposed enormous pressure on natural resources and the environment.
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The East African nation, Rwanda hosts a large number of historical mineral occurrences and operational mines with major commodities being cassiterite (grade of 76% of Sn), wolframite ( grade from 35 to 70% of tungsten), columbite-tantalite (grade of Tantalum ranging between 25% and 55%), native gold (99.999% of Au), and other pegmatite-related rare minerals such as rare earth elements (REEs), beryl, lithium-bearing minerals, phosphate minerals, gemstones etc. However, Methane gas from Lake Kivu is used as a nitrogen fertilizer and is also converted into compressed fuel for trucks. The Mukungwa hydroelectric power installation, the country’s major source of electricity, meets only a portion of the country’s energy needs, and much of the remainder must be imported from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Exhibit 1: Production of Mineral Raw Materials in Rwanda.
Data from the UNCOMTRADE database, indicated that in 2022, Rwanda was a top exporter of tungsten with 31 percent of the total global supply. The same year, Rwanda had 14 percent of total tin exports to the world. Rwanda is also a significant exporter of niobium, tantalum, and vanadium with five percent shares in 2022. Rwandan exports of gold amounted to $555.7 million the same year. New ownership of a gold refinery in Kigali has led to estimated current exports of around $300 million per quarter as of October 2023. Meanwhile, Rwanda also possesses a variety of minerals such as gemstones, silica sands, kaolin, vermiculite, diatomite, clays, limestone, talcum, gypsum, and pozzolan. Small-scale mining accounts for around 80 percent of the country’s mineral output. The government is eager to formalize the sector, attract international mining investors, and increase processing of minerals in the country The Rwanda Mining, Gas and Petroleum Board was established in 2017 to coordinate government efforts in these sectors. Potential investors should note Rwanda is subject to Section 1502 of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which includes the 3Ts and gold.
Also, the Rwandan government and mining industries have been undertaking initiatives to increase mineral production efficiency because Rwanda exports most of its mineral resources. Under the new mining policy (RMB 2018a), the RMB is encouraging mining operators to embrace value addition of mineral resources and increase export revenues to achieve the NTS1 target of US$1.5 Billion mining exports revenues by 2024. As of August 2018, the total number of mine sites that were extracting the 3T’s was estimated to 3,041. The mine sites comprising both cassiterite and coltan were (1,942), followed by cassiterite mines (487), wolfram mines (275), and coltan mines (237) (RMB 2018b). The main mining sites together with the country’s geological units are shown in Exhibit 2.
The mines are owned, managed and operated by individuals, companies, and cooperatives. They comprise of qualified men and women, many of whom are certified mining engineers and geologists from the School of Mining and Geology at the University of Rwanda and Rwanda Polytechnic. They ensure the safety of the mine workers through daily inspections of the tunnels before operations commence, to determine that they are intact and safe. They also ensure that workers are equipped with the necessary and required safety equipment such as helmets, boots, and pumps that ventilate the tunnels.
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