President Paul Kagame has dismissed the claims that minerals exported from Rwanda originate from DR Congo, pointing out that the country has its own verified deposits, including several strategic minerals attracting global interest.
Kagame made the remarks in an interview with Aljazeera ahead of the Washington Accords signed last week between Rwanda and DR Congo. The interview was released on December 7.
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He maintained that narratives portraying Rwanda as a transit point for DR Congo minerals ignore scientific evidence and decades of independent geological work.
He argued that the assumption that "everything the DRC has exists only in the DRC” is wrong.
"People have falsely believed that everything that DR Congo is known to have is only in DR Congo, and nowhere else.”
Kagame cited tungsten, tin, and tantalum—minerals central to electronics and industrial production—as proven to be available in Rwanda.
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"These exist in Rwanda, in fact, of a super quality. They are much better than you would find in other places,” he said, pointing out that Rwanda has consistently ranked among the world’s top producers of tungsten, supported by long-term investment from a US-based company, Trinity Metals, that has conducted independent geological studies and expanded in-country processing.
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Those findings, according to the Head of State, make clear that "whatever we have in Rwanda has nothing to do with DR Congo,” countering accusations that have followed Rwanda for years, particularly in international advocacy circles and some political narratives surrounding the eastern DR Congo conflict.
Kagame also pointed to other critical minerals found in Rwanda, including beryllium and lithium, in addition to gold.
While DR Congo could have larger volumes of gold, Kagame maintained that Rwanda’s exports should not be attributed to cross-border smuggling.
"We can’t assume that every gold we export is coming from DR Congo,” he said.
President Kagame said that mineral flows leaving the DR Congo through other regional routes, particularly in the neighbouring countries, are significantly higher than anything that passes through Kigali, yet Rwanda is frequently singled out.
He linked the accusations to a broader pattern of external blame game directed at Rwanda over regional instability and the presence of the FDLR, a militia terror group mainly comprised of the remnants of the orchestrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
President Kagame said international actors, including western governments, have played a role in reinforcing narratives that deflect responsibility for security failures in restive eastern DR Congo.
"The way they play the game for covering up FDLR and the tragedy that happened in Rwanda and try to apportion responsibility elsewhere is staggering,” he said.
What the sector holds
According to the Rwanda Mining Board, the country hosts a large number of historical mineral occurrences and operational mines, with major commodities being cassiterite (grade of 76% Sn), wolframite (grade from 35% to 70% tungsten), columbite-tantalite (grade of tantalum ranging between 25% and 55%), native gold (99.999% Au) and other pegmatite-related rare minerals such as rare-earth elements (REEs), beryl, lithium-bearing minerals, phosphate minerals, gemstones and others.
The country is also endowed with industrial minerals such as amphibolite, granite, quartzite, volcanic rocks, clay, sand, and gravel.
Other natural resources include peat (used for electricity generation or processed as an alternative to firewood).
Mining operations in Rwanda began in the early 1930s, and since then, the sector has undergone significant reforms, becoming one of the country’s top export revenue earners.
By 2024, the mining sector generated $1.75 billion in export earnings, up from $373.4 million in 2017.
Official statistics from the mining board indicate that the country produces between 8,000 and 9,000 tonnes of 3T minerals every year, and the amount of revenue depends on market pricing dynamics.
The country is also one of the top global producers of tantalum, producing more than 22% of the world’s tantalum used in electronics manufacturing as of 2024.
Key reforms in the sector include improved traceability systems and increased local processing.
Government data shows exports of processed minerals have outpaced raw shipments as the country pushes for value addition and compliance with global due diligence standards.