Rwanda has secured a new mineral exploration agreement with the international mining company Rio Tinto Mining and Exploration (RTX) Ltd, following the identification of significant mineral resources in the country.
Over the past year, a collaborative effort has been underway involving RTX, the Rwandan government, local entity Kinunga Mining Ltd, and Aterian PLC, a British firm that has been conducting mineral exploration in Rwanda for four years, particularly focusing on lithium.
Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational corporation, ranks as the second-largest mining and metals company globally. Aterian PLC, listed on the London Stock Exchange, is involved in exploration, trading, and development, with a diverse portfolio of strategic metals projects across Africa.
A recent cabinet meeting endorsed the partnership between Rwanda and Rio Tinto, allowing for an extension of exploration activities for an additional two years.
Charles Bray, Executive Chairman of Aterian PLC, shared with The New Times that the agreement represents a joint exploration venture between RTX and the Rwandan government, triggered by the discovery of substantial mineral potential in the country.
“After Aterian introduced the mineral potential of Rwanda to RTX, the exploration team confirmed that the country holds significant lithium resources. Consequently, RTX and the government agreed to pursue mineral exploration for two more years,” he noted.
Bray highlighted that Rwanda has often been overlooked in terms of large-scale mining potential, as past efforts focused mainly on artisanal and small-scale mining of coltan and cassiterite.
While acknowledging the value of small-scale operations, he emphasized that this focus has led to a disregard for other valuable mineral resources.
“Rwanda possesses an abundance of LCT (Li-Ce-Ta) pegmatites. Aterian speculated that natural weathering has released lithium from these pegmatites, allowing it to seep into the bedrock in forms like spodumene, lepidolite, and amblygonite,” he explained.
“Considering the extensive pegmatites that support artisanal mining of coltan and cassiterite scattered throughout Rwanda, there is substantial potential for significant lithium discoveries,” he added.
The original agreement between Rio Tinto and Rwanda facilitated the exploration and development of lithium and its by-products, covering 19 identified pegmatite zones over 2,750 hectares in the Southern Province.
This agreement grants Rio Tinto the option to invest $7.5 million in two phases to acquire up to a 75 percent stake in the license for exploring minerals essential for the transition to renewable energy.
The new agreement is expected to broaden exploration efforts to the western regions of Rwanda.
Update on Lithium Exploration
Rwanda’s latest efforts in lithium exploration, stemming from the initial partnership with Rio Tinto, have progressed significantly this year, with Aterian PLC set to commence core drilling last month.
Some delays occurred due to the late arrival of drilling equipment.
Core drilling is a critical phase in mineral exploration, using hollow cylindrical drills to collect samples from beneath the surface for analysis to evaluate the presence, concentration, and distribution of minerals.
This marks not the first instance of lithium core drilling in Rwanda; Trinity Metals achieved this milestone in 2023.
The current drilling plan includes boring to depths ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 meters, with a target of approximately ten drill holes.
Lithium is crucial today for its applications in energy storage and electronics, forming a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in devices such as smartphones and laptops.
Moreover, lithium’s importance extends to renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs), as lithium-ion batteries are essential for storing energy generated from renewable sources like solar energy.