An unlicensed Wolfram mine collapsed in Gicumbi district, northern Rwanda on Monday evening, killing two illegal miners, a senior local administrative official has confirmed.
The tragedy took place when the two illegal miners were working at an underground site of up to 100m in depth in a village nested in northern Rwanda, Oscar Beningoma, the Executive secretary of Ruvune Sector, Northern Rwanda said.
“Suddenly landslides occurred in the underground site with water coming into the site. All the miners were buried by the soil,” Beningoma told APA via telephone.
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 source of investment.
CU/as/APA