APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Six miners have been killed after they were trapped underground in a collapsed mine in Rwanda’s Eastern district of Kayonza, a police source said on Saturday.
Several miners were working in a tunnel of a cassiterite mine before the tragic incident occurred when heavy rains triggered a landslide which caused the collapse of the mine, burying six people, three men and three women, under tonnes of debris.
“Three bodies were exhumed while others were recovered from the rubble,” said Hamudun Twizeyimana, the police spokesperson in Eastern Province.
Without providing more details, the police officer added that an investigation had been initiated into the exact cause of the accident.
Rwanda’s mining sector is largely dominated by artisanal and small-scale miners and employs about 30,000 people.
There are plans to transform the mining sector by adopting a new approach to deliver higher-level results of the mining industry including the increase of export revenues from the sector.
Under the same strategy to transform the mining sector, Rwanda has a vision to become a regional mineral processing hub, adding value to minerals mined in Rwanda and the region before exporting them.
The main minerals produced in the country are tin, tungsten, and tantalum (3Ts) of which the country is ranked among the top producers worldwide.
Gold, gemstones, and rare earths, as well as a wide range of development minerals, such as industrial minerals and precious and semi-precious stones, are also found in significant quantities in Rwanda and are a source of investment.
CU/abj/APA