Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kigali (Agenzia Fides) – The exportation of minerals from Rwanda reached a record worth of 70 million dollars in nine months. This is what Rwandan Minister for Natiral Resources and Minerals, Vincent Karega, said.
“In spite of the world credit crisis, at the close of September of this year, the mining sector had already made 70 million dollars. I am optimistic in projecting that by the end of the year, we will have reached 100 million dollars,” said Dr. Michael Biryabarema, General Director of the Rwandan Authority on Geology and Mining.
The Minister asked all interested parties and investors in the mining businesses to take better advantage of the local mining potential.
In an interview along with Dr. Biryabarema, Minister Karega stressed that the potential of economic progress from minerals is growing, and he named the example of a Canadian businessman who is settling a contract for the extraction of peat, to transform it into energy to generate over 15 mega-watts of electricity.
“We have over 200 million tons of peat; even if we only used 20 million of it, we could see a sharp increase in our energy production,” Biryabarema said.
The Minister visited the mineral laboratories of geology. In the general precinct, he visited the earthquake detector in Kist, an establishment for transformation of tin in Karuruma, one of minerals in Shirongi, a province in the north.
Rwanda exports gold, columbium-tantalite (the famous coltan, which is spoken of in the war in Kivu), tin, and tungsten. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 17/11/2008)
