APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – At least one mine worker was killed as a cassiterite mine collapsed in Rwanda’s northern Gakenke district on Wednesday, local administrative authorities confirmed to APA Thursday.
“The victim died on the way to hospital after a mine caved on him,” Jean Bosco Hakizimana, the Executive Secretary of Ruli Sector in Gakenke district (North) told APA.
COMIKAGI, the company running the mine was fined recently for multiple safety violations ranging from insecure routes into and out of the pit in the hillside village of Ruli in northern Rwanda, according to local administrative officials
Non-standard mining, poor equipment and unskilled workers to extract the underground treasure often claim the lives of miners in Rwanda.
The accident occurred a few days after six other miners were killed earlier this month after they were trapped underground in a collapsed mine in Rwanda’s eastern district of Kayonza.
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/as/APA