Workers washing minerals at a washing station. Rwanda targets to double
mineral revenues from the current $200 million to $400 million by
2017-2018 and $600 million over the next five years. PHOTO | NMG
Companies in Canada and Australia are considering Rwanda as an alternative lower cost source for tantalum.
While
it is not the top producer of the coveted mineral, Rwanda has 90 per
cent of the world’s coltan reserves, making it a top candidate for
global processors.
Without divulging details, Rwanda
Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board chief executive Francis Gatare, said a
couple of mining firms from the two countries had approached Rwanda for
opportunities.
“Some of the global companies from these countries have expressed interest in opening operations in Rwanda,” he told Rwanda Today.
According
to Mr Gatare, while both Australia and Canada have been leading
producers of coltan, it had become increasingly costly for them because
of the hard nature of their rock formation as opposed to Rwanda, where
the mineral is easily found and cheap to mine.
Tantalum
or coltan is a heat-resistant element used in the manufacture of mobile
phones, electric cars and other consumer electronic products.
Australia,
Brazil, and Canada produced 80 per cent of the world’s coltan between
them, but their output has been sliding over the past decade.
Canada
produced less than four per cent of the world’s coltan supply in 2009.
partly because of reserves that were more expensive to extract.
Supply
Global
demand for tantalum is continuing to expand with the proliferation of
smart phones and other electronic devices, with the US, the mineral’s
largest consumer, seeing a 40 per cent increase in demand in 2016.
The
campaign against minerals from Rwanda and the DRC over the past few
years also affected global supplies. Supply is however expected to
recover as mineral traceability programmes open up sources in the Great
Lakes Region.
Mr
Gatare said Rwanda has won a hard fought battle to prove the origin of
its minerals through mineral traceability programmes after reports came
out questioning the legitimacy of the country’s minerals, a narrative he
says was started by some of these global mining corporations.
Of
all the tantalum consumed by the US market in 2016, Brazil contributed
38 per cent, Rwanda 25 per cent, Australia and Canada exported eight per
cent. A kilogramme of tantalum ore was selling at $193.
Rwanda
was the second largest producer of tantalum in 2015 after Brazil,
churning out up to 410 metric tonnes, accounting for 37 per cent of
global supplies followed by the DRC with 350 metric tonnes, contributing
32 per cent to the global market.
Although Rwanda lost
the top African tantalum producer crown to the DRC in 2016, producing
300 metric tonnes while, the DRC produced 450 metric tonnes, the
country’s prospects for tantalum production look positive since it has
been reported to hold 90 per cent of the world’s coltan reserves. The
country also recently discovered rare earth minerals such as gemstones,
cobalt, iron and lithium.
Prices
The
US is reported to have about 1,500 tonnes of tantalum reserves in
confirmed deposits, but the bulk of these are considered uneconomical to
mine at current prices.
Despite the recent downturn in
global commodity prices, Rwanda is stepping up its efforts to increase
its income from minerals through value addition.
The
country has been exporting all of its mineral ores as raw mineral
concentrates which combined with the global commodity crash saw revenues
fall over the past three years.
International prices for tin fell by 38 per cent, wolfram 25 per cent, while coltan fell by 22 per cent.
The
country’s revenues from mineral exports dropped from $226 million in
2013 to $206 million in 2014 and $150 million in 2015, and up to 37,800
miners were left jobless as some companies suspend operations.
The
exported value of coltan, tin and Wolfram declined from $117.81 million
in 2015 to $86.42 million in 2016, according to data from the National
Bank of Rwanda.
The industry is slowly recovering
globally metals’ prices increased by 10 per cent in 2016Q4, the third
consecutive quarter of gain as a result of increase in China’s demand
for metals.
“Our goal is to achieve industrial mining, to attain this we need significant investments into the sector,” Mr Gatare said.
Rwanda
targets to double mineral revenues from the current $200 million to
$400 million by 2017-2018 and $600 million over the next five years.
The sectors contribution to GDP is projected to grow from 1.2 per cent currently to 5.27 per cent in 2018.
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