Authorities are in the process of sourcing for a company that would start carrying out mineral exploration for possible gold deposits in Musanze District by July, The New Times has learnt.
In an interview with the Mayor of Musanze District Janvier Ramuli, he pointed out that having such a company would curb illegal mining practices.
The district has since submitted its request to the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum, and Gas Board (RMB) so that the board can facilitate in having an authorised company take on the mineral exploration.
The development comes after the District discovered that over 1,000 people were engaged in illegal mining in the Gatare Valley, in the Muhoza and Gacaca sectors.
Local leaders from the village to the district level had tried several times to curb the illegal activities at the site, but people continued to clandestinely excavate the site, allegedly seeking gold, the mayor said.
He said that this was the first site believed to have minerals in Musanze because the district had only quarries for the extraction of sand, clay, and stones to be used in construction.
"We organised community work (umuganda) on many occasions to rehabilitate the site, but the residents would usually go back after reaching an agreement with the owners of the land and pay them to create tunnels again. We heard them saying they were seeking gold," he said.
Ramuli confirmed that four people, including the one leading the mining activities and three others supporting the location of extraction sites, were arrested a month ago and are being pursued by justice.
"Nineteen more people were also arrested later for leading the illegal activities and sent to transit centers for rehabilitation," he said.
He said they were taken to the transit centres after exhibiting deviant behaviours, including fighting against local leaders who were trying to prevent illegal mining.
"We expect that legal mineral exploration will give us a picture of whether there are minerals such as gold in the site or not, and then seek a company to legally carry out mining activities. The Rwanda Mining Board has promised to help launch exploration in the coming fiscal year," he said.
Exploration to start in July
Narcisse Dushimimana, the Head of Regulation and Inspection at Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) told The New Times on Wednesday May 31, exploration into the site will start in July.
"Residents are primary explorers. The exploration into this site will start in July this year to assess if there is gold there and look into the quantity and quality available," he said, adding that the place used to have a river.
Meanwhile, the site was closed down as it was illegally being extracted and it is currently protected waiting for legal exploration.
It was closed after a meeting that gathered residents and different officials, including Regional Reserve Force Commander in the Northern Province - Maj Gen Eric Murokore, Brigadier General - Pascal Muhizi, as well as Northern Region Police Commander (RPC) - Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Francis Muheto.
The closure follows the illegal mine that collapsed in the Kinazi sector of Huye District, killing six people. Huye District officials stated that they were not aware of the mine, which had been established four years ago.
After investigations, 10 people were arrested for allegedly being behind the illegal mine.
Over 100 illegal mines identified
The Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) stated that 109 areas across the country have been identified as having illegal mining activity and pledged to investigate the potential of the areas and demarcate them for licensing.
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Mine accidents have killed at least 429 people while 272 were injured in a period of five years, a report shows.
According to the report, 337 mine accidents were recorded from July 2018 to 2022.
Of these, the report shows, 252 accidents happened in mines owned by companies that were legally operating, while 85 accidents happened in sites owned by companies that were operating illegally.
Mine accidents killed 60 in 2018, 84 in 2019, 71 in 2020, 61 in 2021, and 61 in 2022.
In Rwanda, there are 95 companies with 132 licenses doing legal mining, information shared by the board indicates. Of these, 20 are large-scale mining licenses, 71 are medium-scale mining licenses and 41 are small-scale mining licenses.
