Rwanda makes its mines and petroleum board independent of RDB again

Rwanda's Cabinet approved a new organisational structure on 26 October that allows the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) to operate as an independent institution, The New Times and KT Press reported. The government said the change is meant to strengthen oversight of the mining sector and support its growing contribution to the economy.

The decision reverses a July 2025 arrangement that placed RMB under the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). RMB is led by Chief Executive Alice Uwase, whom President Paul Kagame appointed on 18 July 2025.

RMB was established by presidential order in 2023. It issues mining licences and regulates mineral, quarry, oil and gas resources. It also inspects operations, monitors licence holders' compliance, imposes administrative sanctions and monitors value addition and mineral trading.

The board's work includes mineral exploration, geological research, traceability of tin, tantalum and tungsten, laboratory testing and geological hazard monitoring. It also helps settle disputes and advises the government.

Mineral export earnings reached US$1.75 billion in 2024, up from about US$373 million in 2017. The government has set a target of US$2.17 billion a year by 2029.

Rwanda was the world's third-largest tantalum producer in 2024, with 15 per cent of global production, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It ranked sixth in tungsten and eleventh in tin.

The government is promoting mechanisation, exploration and mineral processing. Rwanda has gold-refining, tantalum-refining and tin-smelting facilities.

Uwase told the Mining in Motion Conference in Accra, Ghana, on 20 October: "We are moving toward mechanized extraction, on-site beneficiation, and advanced value addition."

Rwanda Mining Week is scheduled for 9 to 11 December at the Kigali Convention Centre under the theme "Powering the Future: Mechanization, Scale and Sustainable Growth in Mining". The programme includes the launch of Rwanda's Geoscience Laboratory and a Mining Investment Pitchbook.