Rwanda’s state mining minister Evode Imena has told Reuters that a new tin smelter has started a 10 day pilot production programme as part of a plan to boost mineral export earnings. Mining is Rwanda’s second biggest foreign income earner after tourism, and its mines could produce between 450 and 500 tonnes of cassiterite per month the minister said.
French-Swiss company Phoenix Metal Ltd says that it has invested $8 million in a smelter, while Rwanda has invested between $5 million and $7 million, Reuters reported. An audit that could certify the smelter as conflict-free is underway, and the final phase of that audit could be completed by July, Imena said.
Even if the smelter is certified, it will be subject to regular inspections, Phoenix Metal’s chief executive, Raphaël Ritter De Zahony said. “The day I’ve got my certificate, it doesn’t mean I will have the certificate for life. So every year, every day, I have to comply with the system to make sure that there is no failure in traceability, there is no risk in the country.”
All Rwanda’s tin production has been exported in the form of concentrate since 2006, when a small smelter near the border with DR Congo shut down mainly due to unreliability of power supply. ITRI understands that the new plant could produce up to 300 – 350 tpm of metal.
