The Rwandan government will now scrutinize the large mining concessions which were awarded to private companies, following the privatization process which began in 2005.
A number of mining concessions held by state companies were transferred to private or to joint ventures in which the private interest held the majority share.
Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority Director General Michael Biryabarema said that few of the private mining companies failed to honour the contracts due to the disproportion between the company’s financial capacity and the concession size.
"Reducing the size of these concessions into small economically viable blocks will enable the companies to allocate efficient means for optimised exploitation," said Biryabarema.
The review is expected to bring in new investors and will also assess the minimum production capacity for each mining site while agreements for the minimum production will be signed between department and the licence holder.
Since December 2010, Rwanda has been implementing the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) an internationally recognised tagging and sealing system to facilitate the process.
Biryabarema said due to certification scheme and the ITCSI mineral tagging mechanism would get rid of speculation and smuggling of minerals, reports theeastafrican.co.ke.
