According to players in the mining sector, the record-high mineral export revenue of $1.1 billion is a commendable stepping stone to scale up investment and grow to greater heights in the industry for continued economic growth.

Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) crossed the $1 billion mark in export revenue generated in 2023, representing a 43 percent increase from $772 million recorded in 2022.

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Mineral export earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023 (October to December) reached $252.99 million, marking a 34.9 percent increase compared to the same quarter in 2022. It had fetched $241 million in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the growth was mainly spurred by gold that generated more than $202.5 million from 3,158 kilograms, followed by cassiterite that generated $19.7 million from 1,293,608 kilograms, Wolfram worth $7.6 million from 639,987 kilograms, and other Minerals worth $3.8 million from 3,775,389 kilograms.

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Jean Malic Kalima, the Chairman of Rwanda Mining Association, said that it was commendable that the sector managed to work towards achieving the target of $1.5 billion in revenue by 2024, something that initially seemed unattainable.

"This is the first time we cross the $1 billion mark; it something we are happy about and it encourages players in the sector to keep growing,” he said.

According to him, the market has been favourable for various minerals with good and stable prices whereby gold was available in large quantity for five consecutive months coinciding with high market price, and the price of cassiterite increased despite the tumble in coltan and wolfram.

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While the sector with mineral reserves that present an economic potential of $150 billion is often shunned by the banking sector in terms of financing, Kalima indicates that there has been progress in addressing the challenge by finding ways to initiate a credit guarantee scheme, and prospect of establishing an investment facility to encourage more players in the industry.

When it comes to value addition, the country has three refineries including a Tin Smelter (LuNa Smelter), Gold refinery (GGR) and a yet-to-be-launched Tantalum refinery (PowerX), as well as prospects of having a lithium refinery.

"Going forward, the aim is to grow even bigger towards a new target. And if we have the financing facility, we will certainly reach greater heights,” Kalima said.

Odette Uzayisenga, the Managing Director of Union Nationale des Mines, reiterated the need for the banking sector to open up financing instruments that could be leveraged to explore the industry’s full potential. To explain this, she noted that due to the highs and lows in the sector, one might encounter a loss and need recapitalization to continue in business which they had already invested much, a gap that can be filled by the banking sector.

As announced, RMB is progressing in de-risking the sector by mapping out minerals available in different concessions and estimating their value, as well as expected revenue. This means that a miner will be able to present their license as collateral in a bank for capital access.

Overall, Uzayisenga’s company which extracts minerals such as gold, cassiterite, and wolfram has enjoyed a good climate on the international market despite fluctuations, she noted, highlighting the importance of applying modern exploration and extraction techniques.

Ivan Twagirashema, the Deputy CEO of RMB, said that the recorded mineral revenue highlights the sector’s dedication towards attaining the target outlined in the National Strategy of Transformation (NST1) and building the country’s economy.

"We ended the year 2023 with $1.1 billion which means we are left with $400 million revenue against the target of $1.5 billion,” he explained.

He, however, indicated that it is dependent on international markets which set the prices but RMB is optimistic due to the diversification of minerals exported on the market.

Twagirashema added that there are many potential investments in the pipeline but RMB remains cautious enough to conduct assessment of investors' commitment before issuing permits.

Key export destinations include Belgium, China, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Singapore, UAE, and USA.

The mining board shares the generated revenue with communities hosting mining activities in terms of infrastructure development and other various projects.

Between 2019 and 2023, RMB spent Rwf2 billion on projects such as water and electricity supply, medical facilities, and roads.