{"id":54021,"date":"2025-04-24T10:41:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwanda-in-talks-with-us-on-possible-minerals-deal\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T13:02:21","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T13:02:21","slug":"rwanda-in-talks-with-us-on-possible-minerals-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-in-talks-with-us-on-possible-minerals-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda in talks with US on possible minerals deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo confirmed the development, stating, “Yes, this is part of the discussions we are having with the U.S.” <\/p>\n

Among the minerals the U.S. is eyeing is tantalum, which could soon be processed locally for use in automotive components, such as capacitors.<\/p>\n

Rwanda is among the top global producers of tantalum, producing more than 9% of the world\u2019s tantalum used in electronics manufacturing, and only ranks third after Australia ( 54%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (11%).<\/p>\n

The talks come as the U.S. intensifies efforts to diversify its sources of critical minerals, amid similar ongoing negotiations with the neighbouring DRC.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Massad Boulos, Senior Advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump on African Affairs, visited Rwanda and met with President Paul Kagame to discuss bilateral cooperation and regional security.<\/p>\n

As part of his visit, Boulos toured Rwanda\u2019s Nyakabingo Mine on April 9.<\/p>\n

Located in Shyorongi Sector, Rulindo District, the site is one of Africa\u2019s top producers of wolfram, the primary ore used to extract tungsten, a metal essential for aerospace, defence, and technology industries.<\/p>\n

Trinity Metals Group, which operates the Nyakabingo site, confirmed hosting Boulos. In a statement, the company said it was \u201chonoured\u201d to welcome the U.S. envoy, noting he was briefed on the mine\u2019s operations and expansion plans.<\/p>\n

Producing over 1,000 tonnes of wolfram annually, Nyakabingo plays a vital role in Rwanda\u2019s mining sector. Trinity Metals has committed $40 million in investments across its mining operations, with plans to more than double wolfram production within four years. The mineral is currently exported at 68% purity, primarily to Austria, before being refined abroad.<\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s mining sector has seen rapid growth, emerging as the country\u2019s top foreign exchange earner. According to figures shared by Prime Minister Dr. \u00c9douard Ngirente in March, mineral exports brought in $1.7 billion in 2024, up from $373 million in 2017.<\/p>\n

Gold dominated export revenues, generating $1.5 billion, followed by coltan ($99 million), cassiterite ($96 million), and wolfram ($36 million). The Prime Minister also revealed that Rwanda exported 2,384 tonnes of coltan, 4,861 tonnes of cassiterite, and 2,741 tonnes of wolfram last year.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ngirente attributed the sector\u2019s success to modernised mining methods, strategic investments, and a shift toward value addition. He cited the launch of three mineral processing plants\u2014Gasabo Gold Refinery, LuNa Smelter, and Power Resources International Ltd.\u2014as milestones in Rwanda\u2019s journey towards refining its own resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cProduction has increased significantly, and we are discovering new minerals like lithium and beryllium, which are in high demand globally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A formal deal with the U.S. would signal deepening economic ties and highlight Rwanda\u2019s growing influence in the international minerals market.<\/p>\n

\"Rwanda\u2019s<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda has confirmed it is in discussions with the United States over a potential deal that would grant Washington access to its mineral resources, a move that could position Kigali as a key player in the global supply chain of critical minerals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000086327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000086327,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/rmb-site-visit-to-piran-musha-2048x1365.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000086327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54021"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54021"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}