Mining and Quarrying in Rwanda
Senior 2 · Geography and Environment
Mining and Quarrying in Rwanda
Lesson 1 of 3
22 min
The phone in your pocket almost certainly contains tin, tantalum and tungsten, and Rwanda is one of the world's suppliers of all three. In 2019 it was the world's 7th largest producer of tungsten and 12th largest producer of tin, and in 2020 it earned about US$733 million from mineral exports, making mining its biggest export earner after tourism. This lesson names Rwanda's main minerals and where they are found.
| Mineral (ore) | What it gives and its uses | Main mining areas |
|---|---|---|
| Cassiterite | Tin: solder that joins parts in electronics; coating steel cans | Rutongo (Rulindo, about 10 km north of Kigali), Rwinkwavu (Kayonza), Musha (Rwamagana), Gatumba (Ngororero) |
| Coltan (columbite-tantalite) | Tantalum: tiny capacitors in phones and computers. Rwanda supplies about 9% of the world's tantalum. | Gatumba (Ngororero), Muhanga |
| Wolframite | Tungsten: a very hard metal with a very high melting point, used in drill bits, cutting tools and phone vibration motors | Nyakabingo (Rulindo), Gifurwe (Burera) |
| Gold | Jewellery, electronics, savings | Miyove (Gicumbi) and small workings in the north and west |
| Methane gas | A fuel for power stations and industry. About 55 billion m³ is dissolved in Lake Kivu's deep water, around 300 m down. | Lake Kivu (Rubavu and Karongi) |
| Peat | Partly rotted plant matter from marshes, dried and burned as fuel. Rwanda has an estimated 155 million tonnes of dry peat over about 50,000 ha. | Southern marshes such as Akanyaru (Gisagara) and Gishoma (Rusizi) |
Tin, tantalum and tungsten are often called the 3Ts. Rwanda also has small amounts of gemstones such as sapphires.
In 2010 Rwanda exported 3,874 t of cassiterite worth US$42.2 million, 749 t of coltan worth US$18.48 million and 843 t of wolfram (wolframite) worth US$7.1 million. Which earned the most in total, and which was worth most per tonne?
Tip
Memory hook: the 3Ts and their ores. Cassiterite gives Tin; Coltan gives Tantalum; Wolframite gives Tungsten (tungsten's symbol is W). Pair each with one place: Rutongo, Gatumba, Nyakabingo.
Solution: a mineral is a natural substance with a definite chemical make-up; an ore is rock containing enough of it to be worth extracting.
Solution: tin, tantalum, tungsten.
Solution: dissolved in the deep water of Lake Kivu; it fuels power stations and has been used by the Bralirwa brewery in Rubavu.
Solution: 4,269 − 3,874 = 395 tonnes.
Solution: tantalum is needed for the capacitors in phones, laptops and other electronics, and the number of such devices keeps growing.
Summary
Sources and credits
The mineral table, the worked example and the practice items are written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
