In Ngororero District, lies a small, relatively prosperous village. Electric lines run the long of modest, well-built houses, surrounded with live-stock, bananas and flower trees. The children go to school, the hospital has modern equipment, and coltan flows down the river from the hills. Of all the minor metals, coltan is one of the most highly-sought after, as the dull black metallic ore from which tantalum is extracted. Coltan, an abbreviation for columbite – tantalite, consists of two elements, niobium and tantalum. Tantalum can arguably be said to power our modern existence; it is used primarily in tantalum capacitors which are in most modern electronics from phones to aeroplanes. Tantalum is further used as an inert material in medical equipment. Rwanda is one of the world’s top producers of tantalum, along with DRC, Brazil, Canada and Australia, comprising between a quarter to a third of the world’s total, according to the U.S Geological Survey’s 2018 Mineral Commodities Summaries. Combined mineral exports of tin, tungsten and tantalum ore, the “3t’s”, amounted to $373.4 million in export revenue for the country in 2017, with aims to increase revenue to $600 million in the next few years. Mining is the country’s second largest export, based on Rwanda Development Board figures. Currently coltan in Ngororero District is mined in an artisanal manner, which carries a heavy impact on the environment. In many mines, minerals are illegally extracted and typically sold on the local market for Rwf1,500 to Rwf 30,000 per kilo, depending on quality, to middlemen who then transport and trade in bags of 100 kg, in Kigali. Due to the sheer abundance and importance of this mineral, the government is eager to formalize the sector. However, mining in Africa has historically been portrayed in a negative light due to the slew of abuses that occur on the continent, including armed conflict, child labor and environmental degradation. Yet in the small village of Muriro, where coltan is collected from the riverbed and the mines in the hills, it is obvious that mining can be an enriching industry for local economies when managed properly. Here, local people mine and sell and make a profit. But, the work is hard, miners have no modern equipment and know they are only scratching the surface of the ground with their rudimentary mining tools. Access to geological expertise and mine planning to locate high-quality deposits and ensure safe mining practises have been impossible to secure, until now. Recently, the government of Rwanda took an interest in attracting an international metal refining and mining company to invest in Rwanda, PRG Plc. PRG consists of a CFSi compliant refinery of Tantalum and Niobium as well as a mining and geological services division. PRG Ltd (Rwanda), is competent to not only provide mine prospecting to the local area, but also offers solutions for other processes in Rwanda such as landslides and flooding. PRG has, through its geological services company, extensive experience in consulting, design and rehabilitation of landslide and general slope protection as well traditional mining services such as exploration drilling. With global references for geological, geotechnical, geophysical, and geo-informatics services, PRG is already providing Rwandan based companies with its services and knowledge for the sustainable development of their projects. Having worked on large scale infrastructure and energy projects in Europe, the team is bringing more equipment to the country to expand its capabilities and establish Rwanda as a regional hub to even export its services from Kigali. So far this year, their team has made their first introduction to the community of Gatumba, the local umudugudu, and miners and their families. Speaking to the CEO of the Geological Services Division, Dr Matevz Pavlic states “We hope to become the most trusted geotechnical services partner in Rwanda to help protect the environment and dramatically improve the potential of the mining community through knowledge transfer of best practises in operations as well as planning.” Contacts: Dr. Matevz Uro Pavlic mp@prgplc.eu WhatsApp: +386 51 394 534 Taratibu Tom Ztt@prgplc.eu +250 78 9483955
