Mining in Rwanda

Lessons

Senior 4 · Geography

Mining in Rwanda

4 lessons

Lesson 1 of 4

Types and Distribution of Major Minerals

25 min

Nineteen tonnes worth more than thirty-six thousand

In 2024 Rwanda exported 36,980 tonnes of minerals worth US$1,755 million (NISR, 2025, from RMB data). Just 19.4 tonnes of that was gold, yet Figure 1 shows how much of the value it carried.

Figure 1. Mineral exports by value, 2024. Drawn by Ganzaa from NISR (2025).

Before reading on, decide: is Rwanda mainly a gold country or a "3T" country? The answer depends on whether you count value, weight or jobs, which is why geographers always say what they are measuring.

Definition

Mineral: a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition, such as cassiterite (SnO₂). Ore: rock containing enough of a mineral to be mined at a profit. Concentrate: ore that has been crushed and washed so that it is mostly the valuable mineral.

Metallic minerals yield metals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold). Non-metallic (industrial) minerals are used as they are or for building (limestone, clay, sand, stone). Energy minerals are fuels (methane, peat).

The 3Ts: tin, tantalum and tungsten, the metals from cassiterite, coltan and wolframite. Pegmatite: a very coarse-grained igneous rock, formed from the last fluids of a cooling granite, that often holds rare metals.

Types of minerals

Mineral (ore)	Metal or product	Main uses	Exports, 2024
Cassiterite	Tin	Solder in electronics; tin plate	4,861 t; US$96.4 million
Coltan (columbite–tantalite)	Tantalum, niobium	Capacitors in phones and computers	2,384 t; US$99.2 million
Wolframite	Tungsten	Very hard cutting tools, drill bits	2,741 t; US$35.8 million
Gold	Gold	Jewellery, electronics, reserves	19.4 t; US$1,509.1 million
Other minerals	Beryl, lithium and others	Alloys, batteries	26,974 t; US$14.6 million
Limestone, iron ore	Cement clinker; steel	Building	Used at home (CIMERWA; A1 Iron & Steel)
Sand, gravel, clay, stone	Construction materials	Building and roads	Quarried in every district
Methane, peat	Fuel for power	Electricity (Unit 15)	Used at home

Sources: NISR (2025), Tables 5.4 and 5.5, from RMB; MINICOM (2025); RMB (2025).

Where the minerals are

Figure 2. Selected mining areas, the ten-block investment offer of 2025 (some shown) and processing sites. Drawn by Ganzaa from RMB (2025), REMA (2009) and Wikipedia ("Karuruma smelter"); positions are approximate.

The 3Ts lie in a broad belt across central, northern and eastern Rwanda, in old (Precambrian) folded quartzites and schists cut by granites. Pegmatites and quartz veins near the granites of Kayenzi, Bugesera and Rwamagana carry cassiterite, coltan and wolframite (RMB, 2025). Named areas include Rutongo and Gatumba (REMA, 2009); RMB's 2025 offer included blocks at Rukoma (Kamonyi), Nduba (Gasabo), Juru, Musenyi and Rweru (Bugesera) and Rubiha (Gatsibo).
New metals: licences for lithium and beryllium surround the Binyeri block at Rukoma, and the Rweru blocks show potential for rare earth elements (RMB, 2025).
Processing: Rwanda has a gold refinery and a tin smelter with the capacity to process minerals "from within the country and the region" (REMA, 2021); the smelter is near Kigali.
Construction minerals are quarried everywhere; methane lies dissolved in the deep water of Lake Kivu in the west.

Worked example 1: value against weight

Data (NISR, 2025; RMB). 2024 exports: total 36,980,027 kg worth US$1,754,980,879; gold 19,397 kg worth US$1,509,053,729; the 3Ts 9,986,689 kg worth US$231,348,064.

\text{gold: } \frac{19\,397}{36\,980\,027} \times 100 = 0.052\%\ \text{of weight} \qquad \frac{1\,509\,053\,729}{1\,754\,980\,879} \times 100 = 86.0\%\ \text{of value}

\text{3Ts: } \frac{9\,986\,689}{36\,980\,027} \times 100 = 27.0\%\ \text{of weight} \qquad \frac{231\,348\,064}{1\,754\,980\,879} \times 100 = 13.2\%\ \text{of value}

Interpretation. Measured by value, Rwanda is a gold exporter; measured by tonnage and by the number of mines and workers on the hills, it is a 3T country. A geographer should present both, and say which one a statement uses.

Worked example 2: how big is a deposit?

Data. A 2014 ground geophysical survey estimated 52,998.4 t of cassiterite in the surveyed part of the Juru block, Bugesera (RMB, 2025). Rwanda exported 4,861,494 kg of cassiterite in 2024 (NISR, 2025).

\frac{52\,998.4\ \text{t}}{4\,861.5\ \text{t a year}} = 10.9\ \text{years of national exports}

Interpretation. On paper one block could match about eleven years of Rwanda's cassiterite exports. But the figure comes "only" from geophysics, not drilling, so it is an estimate of what may be there, not a proven reserve. This is why RMB offers blocks with their exploration data and expects investors to drill before they mine.

Warning

Value is not volume, and exports are not production. Export earnings rise and fall with world prices: MINICOM (2025) notes that in 2024–25 mineral export growth came from larger quantities while unit prices fell. Also remember that coltan and cassiterite are ores; tantalum and tin are the metals.

RBA, "Big Q: State of mining in Rwanda, challenges and opportunities" (April 2021). Note which minerals the panel discusses and list the challenges and opportunities they name; you will need them in lessons 2 to 4.

✦

Practice

Distinguish a mineral from an ore, and metallic from non-metallic minerals, with Rwandan examples.
Name the ore and one use of each of the 3Ts.
Using the table, what percentage of the value of 2024 mineral exports came from coltan?
Describe the distribution of 3T mining in Rwanda and explain it using the geology.
Calculate the average export value per kilogram of wolframite in 2024 (2,741,284 kg worth US$35,769,945).
Explain why the Juru estimate of 52,998.4 t should be treated with caution.
"Rwanda's mining is really about gold." Assess this statement.

Show answersHide answers

A mineral is a natural inorganic solid of definite composition (cassiterite); an ore is rock with enough of it to mine at a profit (cassiterite-bearing pegmatite). Metallic: cassiterite, coltan, wolframite, gold. Non-metallic: limestone, clay, sand, stone.
Tin from cassiterite (solder); tantalum from coltan (capacitors); tungsten from wolframite (cutting tools).
$\frac{99.17}{1\,754.98} \times 100 = 5.65\%$ .
A belt across central, northern and eastern Rwanda (Rutongo–Nduba, Gatumba, Rukoma, Bugesera, Gatsibo), where old folded metasediments are cut by granites; pegmatites and quartz veins from the granites carry the 3Ts.
$\frac{35\,769\,945}{2\,741\,284} = 13.05$ US dollars per kg.
It is based only on ground geophysics in a surveyed area, not on drilling; the tonnage and grade are not proven, so the real reserve could be much smaller (or larger).
By value, yes: gold was 86.0% of 2024 export earnings. By weight, number of sites and probably jobs, the 3Ts dominate (27.0% of weight, 13.2% of value), along with quarrying for construction. A balanced answer: gold dominates earnings, but 3T mining and quarrying dominate the landscape and livelihoods.

Quick check

Match each ore to the metal it gives.

Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.

Key points

2024 exports: 36,980 t worth US$1,755 million; gold 86.0% of value but 0.05% of weight; 3Ts 13.2% of value, 27.0% of weight.
Types: metallic (cassiterite, coltan, wolframite, gold, beryl, lithium), non-metallic (limestone, iron ore, sand, clay, stone), energy (methane, peat).
Distribution: 3Ts in a central–eastern belt of old metasediments and granites (Rutongo–Nduba, Gatumba, Rukoma, Bugesera, Gatsibo); quarries everywhere; methane in Lake Kivu; smelting and refining in Kigali.
Survey estimates are not proven reserves; value depends on prices.

Sources and credits

Sources: Rwanda Statistical Yearbook 2025, NISR, Tables 5.4 and 5.5, from RMB data (mineral export volumes and values); Rwanda Mining Investment Pitchbook, RMB, May 2025 (blocks, geology, lithium and beryllium licences, Juru estimate); Annual Report 2024–2025, MINICOM (prices, CIMERWA, A1 Iron & Steel); Rwanda State of Environment and Outlook Report, REMA, 2009 (Rutongo and Gatumba); Rwanda State of Environment and Outlook Report 2021, REMA (gold refinery and tin smelter); Karuruma smelter, Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa (location near Kigali).

Figures 1 and 2, the tables and the worked examples were drawn and written by Ganzaa; Figure 2 uses the national outline and neighbouring countries from geoBoundaries (CC BY 4.0) and Natural Earth (public domain); lakes and rivers © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photo: Muhanga Business City Monument, Muhirehussein12, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Video: "BIG_Q: State of mining in Rwanda || Challenges & Opportunities", RwandaTV (RBA), embedded from YouTube. The rest of the lesson and the exercises were written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Nineteen tonnes worth more than thirty-six thousand

2Types of minerals

3Where the minerals are

Nineteen tonnes worth more than thirty-six thousand

Types of minerals

Where the minerals are