Mining in Rwanda consists of extracting such minerals as
tin,
tantalum, and
tungsten. In 2020, Rwanda earned about
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
733m from mineral exports , making mining the biggest source of export revenues after tourism.
In 2019, the country was the 7th largest world producer of
tungsten and the 12th largest world producer of
tin.
Minerals extracted
:*
Cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem. Cassiterite was the chief tin ore throughout ancient history and remains t ...
(tin ore) had the largest production and export volume at about 3,874 tons valued at US$42.2m in 2010 (down from 4,269 tons in 2009);
:* It was followed by
coltan with 749 tons in 2010 valued at $18.48m (949 tons in 2009), and
wolfram
Wolfram may refer to:
* Wolfram (name)
* Wolfram, an alternative name for the chemical element tungsten
* Wolfram Research, a software company known for the symbolic computation program Mathematica
** Wolfram Language, the programming language use ...
(tungsten ore) with 843 tons in 2010 valued at $7.1m, down from 874 tons in 2009.
:* Rwanda produces about 9% of the world’s
tantalum, used in electronics manufacturing, and about 4% of global
tungsten.
[Rwanda: More Mining Investments After Introduction of Mineral Certificatio]
Ratio-Magazine.com, 24 Aug 2011
In October 2012, Rwanda's Ministry of Natural Resources suspended mining activities in the country's western province on the basis that they were endangering the
River Sebeya. The decision was met with negativity due to the affected mining companies’ loss of production and the loss of thousands of jobs for workers at the mines.
References
{{Africa in topic, Mining in
Economy of Rwanda