Rwanda Mines, Gas and Petroleum Board’s CEO, Yamina Karitanyi has disclosed that the country’s mineral reserves present an economic potential of $150 billion (approx. Rwf186 trillion) that can be realized by employing modern exploration and exploitation techniques. 

While discussing the state of the mining sector, Yamina Karitanyi debunked the claims that Rwanda is a resource-poor country, which is most likely based on the fact that it is compared to other large neighboring countries but “it does not mean that Rwanda is without mineral resources”.

“As history for many African countries, we have neglected a very core activity in the sector, which is the exploration phase because this is what gives you the comfort to speak on the resources you have.”

She clarified that this was because is an extremely costly and hazardous activity that has historically deterred investors from making investments in it. That being said, she pointed out that the institution has gathered all exploration data since 1968, which has restored confidence in significant reserves across the nation totaling $150 billion.

“These are confirmed reserves that we have. This is what we know we have underground but there is tremendous work required to tap into it,” she said.

Karitanyi noted, “Over the last seven years, we have tripled our export revenues.” Mineral exports yielded over $362 million and $241 million in the second and third quarters of 2023, respectively. The mineral exports include gold, cassiterite, coltan, wolfram, and gemstones, among others.

A section of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) is dedicated to boosting mining and turning it into significant exports. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the percentage of minerals in overall exports will increase from 32.9 percent in 2017 to 49.6 percent in 2024.

Due to outdated methods and equipment that put worker safety and environmental preservation in danger, the industry is still only able to produce a limited amount of exploration and extraction.

In terms of the tangible impact on productivity, the organization stated that artisanal mining methods result in the loss of the remaining 20% of minerals.

“We are increasing mining techniques which give better recovery of minerals. With the introduction of mechanical processing technique, a miner is now able to recover at least 40 to 45 percent of minerals,” Karitanyi said.

Moreover, despite the associated risk, Karitanyi urged financial institutions to make their financing instruments available to the mining industry. “Today, a concession has no real value attached to the reserves they have, which makes it very difficult for a bank to have a conversation with a miner and provide them with a loan. We don’t have instruments in our banking sector that speak to the mining sector.”

She did point out that the mining organization is making progress in de-risking the industry by charting the minerals that are accessible in various concessions, valuing them, and projecting their yield. This implies that a miner seeking access to capital in a bank will be able to use their license as collateral.