Rwanda was not a globally significant consumer of minerals. In 2009, however, Rwanda’s share of the world’s tantalum mine production amounted to about 9%, and tungsten, 1%. In 2008 (the latest year for which data were available), the mining and quarrying sector accounted for about 1% of the gross domestic product. About 50,000 Rwandans were employed in the mining sector in 2007. Rwanda’s exports of columbite-tantalite, cassiterite (tin ore), and wolframite (tungsten ore) were from domestic mining operations and reexports from mining operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [Congo (Kinshasa)] (Banque Nationale du Rwanda, 2009; Garrett and Mitchell, 2009; Papp, 2010; Shedd, 2010).
Production
In 2009, peat production increased by an estimated 300%, and natural gas, by about 100%. Production of tungsten decreased by an estimated 14% in 2009, and niobium (columbium), tantalum, and tin, by an estimated 13% each.
Structure of the Mineral Industry
The state-owned Régie d’Exploitation et de Développement des Mines (REDEMI) produced columbite-tantalite, cassiterite (tin ore), and wolframite (tungsten ore); privately owned companies, cooperatives, and artisanal miners also produced these mineral commodities. In 2006, the Government privatized 20 of REDEMI’s concessions. The privately owned Cimenterie du Rwanda (Cimerwa) was the country’s only cement producer.
Gold
TransAfrika Resources Ltd. of Mauritius engaged in a drilling program at its Byumba concession in the Gicumbi District from October 2008 to September 2009. In October 2009, Transafrika started work on a resource estimate at Byumba. Kivu Gold Corp. of Canada also engaged in gold exploration. Rogi Mining Ltd. of Russia held the Miyove concession.
Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum
Columbite-tantalite was mined in the Gatsibo and the Kamonyi Districts by companies that included Centrale Multi-Services SARL (CMS), Eurotrade International S.A., Gatumba Mining Concessions Ltd. (GMC), Munsad Minerals, and Natural Resources Development Rwanda Ltd. (NRD) of Germany. CMS produced at the rate of 180 metric tons per year (t/yr) of columbite-tantalite in 2009. GMC planned to spend $2.5 million on building 10 new small processing plants by late 2014 (Holland, 2009; Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010).
Tin
Cassiterite was mined in 26 of Rwanda’s 30 districts. CMS produced cassiterite at the rate of 300 t/yr in 2009 compared with 174 t/yr in 2007. In 2009, NRD produced cassiterite at Ntemba at the rate of nearly 220 t/yr compared with 56 t/yr in 2007. NRD planned to increase production to about 430 t/yr. GMC produced cassiterite at Gatumba at the rate of 60 t/yr in 2009 compared with 10 t/yr in 2007. The company was considering the development of medium-scale cassiterite and columbite-tantalite mines at Gatumba that would increase output to between 1,200 and 2,400 t/yr of cassiterite. Columbite-tantalite prices were $38 per pound in late November 2009; GMC’s expansion depended on prices increasing to $60 per pound (Garrett and Mitchell, 2009; Holland, 2009; New Times, 2009; Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010).
Umlhaba Mining of South Africa was engaged in a joint venture with the Government to revamp the Rutongo Mines in Rulindo District. The cost of the project was estimated to be about $5 million (Karuhanga, 2009).
Tungsten
Privately owned companies, such as Africa Primary Tungsten SARL, CMS, Eurotrade International S.A., Pyramid International, Rwanda Allied Partners, and Wolfram Bergbau- und Hütten GmbH Nfg of Austria, accounted for about 50% of Rwanda’s wolframite production in 2007; cooperatives, nearly 40%; and artisanal miners, about 10%. In 2009, CMS produced about 300 t/yr of wolframite (Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010; Transafrika Resources Ltd., 2010).
Cement
Rwanda imported 116,000 t of cement in 2008; Ciments du Rwanda Ltd. (Cimerwa) [Rwanda Investment Group S.A. (RIG), 90%] was unable to meet domestic demand in spite of producing at about its full capacity of 100,000 t/yr. Cimerwa planned to build a new plant with a capacity of 600,000 t/yr at a cost of $70 million. In June 2009, Cimerwa was trying to secure financing for the project (Majyambere, 2009).
Natural Gas
State-owned company Kibuye Power 1 Ltd. extracted natural gas from Lake Kivu; the company’s 2-megawatt (MW)-capacity gas-fired power station produced electricity for the local power grid. Starting in December 2009, RIG planned to supply a new gas-fired power station with an initial capacity of 3.6 MW using natural gas from beneath Lake Kivu (Africa Energy Intelligence, 2009).
In March 2009, CountourGlobal LLC of the United States signed an agreement with the Government to extract natural gas from Lake Kivu and to build a new gas-fired power station. In the first phase of the project, the plant was expected to have a capacity of 25 MW starting in 2010; full capacity of 100 MW would be reached by 2012. The estimated cost of the project was $325 million (African Power Mining & Oil Review, 2009).
Peat
In 2008, Peat Energy Co. (a subsidiary of RIG) started peat production at Gishoma in Rusizi District. By October 2009, production amounted to 20,000 t. Cimerwa planned to use peat as a source of energy; the company planned to replace about 70% of its fuel oil consumption with peat. RIG also planned to develop the Gihitasi and the Masya peat deposits (Gahigi, 2009).
Petroleum
At the end of 2009, Vangold Resources Ltd. of Canada spun off its concession in Lake Kivu and southwest Rwanda to a new company called Vanoil Energy Ltd. of Canada. Vanoil planned to complete a seismic survey at Lake Kivu in the third quarter of 2010.
Source: Mineral Yearbook by United States Geological Survey
Production
In 2009, peat production increased by an estimated 300%, and natural gas, by about 100%. Production of tungsten decreased by an estimated 14% in 2009, and niobium (columbium), tantalum, and tin, by an estimated 13% each.
Structure of the Mineral Industry
The state-owned Régie d’Exploitation et de Développement des Mines (REDEMI) produced columbite-tantalite, cassiterite (tin ore), and wolframite (tungsten ore); privately owned companies, cooperatives, and artisanal miners also produced these mineral commodities. In 2006, the Government privatized 20 of REDEMI’s concessions. The privately owned Cimenterie du Rwanda (Cimerwa) was the country’s only cement producer.
Gold
TransAfrika Resources Ltd. of Mauritius engaged in a drilling program at its Byumba concession in the Gicumbi District from October 2008 to September 2009. In October 2009, Transafrika started work on a resource estimate at Byumba. Kivu Gold Corp. of Canada also engaged in gold exploration. Rogi Mining Ltd. of Russia held the Miyove concession.
Niobium (Columbium) and Tantalum
Columbite-tantalite was mined in the Gatsibo and the Kamonyi Districts by companies that included Centrale Multi-Services SARL (CMS), Eurotrade International S.A., Gatumba Mining Concessions Ltd. (GMC), Munsad Minerals, and Natural Resources Development Rwanda Ltd. (NRD) of Germany. CMS produced at the rate of 180 metric tons per year (t/yr) of columbite-tantalite in 2009. GMC planned to spend $2.5 million on building 10 new small processing plants by late 2014 (Holland, 2009; Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010).
Tin
Cassiterite was mined in 26 of Rwanda’s 30 districts. CMS produced cassiterite at the rate of 300 t/yr in 2009 compared with 174 t/yr in 2007. In 2009, NRD produced cassiterite at Ntemba at the rate of nearly 220 t/yr compared with 56 t/yr in 2007. NRD planned to increase production to about 430 t/yr. GMC produced cassiterite at Gatumba at the rate of 60 t/yr in 2009 compared with 10 t/yr in 2007. The company was considering the development of medium-scale cassiterite and columbite-tantalite mines at Gatumba that would increase output to between 1,200 and 2,400 t/yr of cassiterite. Columbite-tantalite prices were $38 per pound in late November 2009; GMC’s expansion depended on prices increasing to $60 per pound (Garrett and Mitchell, 2009; Holland, 2009; New Times, 2009; Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010).
Umlhaba Mining of South Africa was engaged in a joint venture with the Government to revamp the Rutongo Mines in Rulindo District. The cost of the project was estimated to be about $5 million (Karuhanga, 2009).
Tungsten
Privately owned companies, such as Africa Primary Tungsten SARL, CMS, Eurotrade International S.A., Pyramid International, Rwanda Allied Partners, and Wolfram Bergbau- und Hütten GmbH Nfg of Austria, accounted for about 50% of Rwanda’s wolframite production in 2007; cooperatives, nearly 40%; and artisanal miners, about 10%. In 2009, CMS produced about 300 t/yr of wolframite (Centrale Multi-Services SARL, 2010; Transafrika Resources Ltd., 2010).
Cement
Rwanda imported 116,000 t of cement in 2008; Ciments du Rwanda Ltd. (Cimerwa) [Rwanda Investment Group S.A. (RIG), 90%] was unable to meet domestic demand in spite of producing at about its full capacity of 100,000 t/yr. Cimerwa planned to build a new plant with a capacity of 600,000 t/yr at a cost of $70 million. In June 2009, Cimerwa was trying to secure financing for the project (Majyambere, 2009).
Natural Gas
State-owned company Kibuye Power 1 Ltd. extracted natural gas from Lake Kivu; the company’s 2-megawatt (MW)-capacity gas-fired power station produced electricity for the local power grid. Starting in December 2009, RIG planned to supply a new gas-fired power station with an initial capacity of 3.6 MW using natural gas from beneath Lake Kivu (Africa Energy Intelligence, 2009).
In March 2009, CountourGlobal LLC of the United States signed an agreement with the Government to extract natural gas from Lake Kivu and to build a new gas-fired power station. In the first phase of the project, the plant was expected to have a capacity of 25 MW starting in 2010; full capacity of 100 MW would be reached by 2012. The estimated cost of the project was $325 million (African Power Mining & Oil Review, 2009).
Peat
In 2008, Peat Energy Co. (a subsidiary of RIG) started peat production at Gishoma in Rusizi District. By October 2009, production amounted to 20,000 t. Cimerwa planned to use peat as a source of energy; the company planned to replace about 70% of its fuel oil consumption with peat. RIG also planned to develop the Gihitasi and the Masya peat deposits (Gahigi, 2009).
Petroleum
At the end of 2009, Vangold Resources Ltd. of Canada spun off its concession in Lake Kivu and southwest Rwanda to a new company called Vanoil Energy Ltd. of Canada. Vanoil planned to complete a seismic survey at Lake Kivu in the third quarter of 2010.
Source: Mineral Yearbook by United States Geological Survey
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