RWANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Aimery de Schoutheete and Penina Ngabire, Liedekerke Great Lakes
Digitalisation and Traceability Through its partnership with the EU and GIZ, the RMB is working on the digitalisation of various mining ser - vices. In particular, the RMB and GIZ developed an online mining cadastre system known as GIMICS (geological information mining cadastre system) that is currently operational and accessible to potential investors. Moreover, the RMB intends to develop a digital sys - tem to improve the traceability of minerals in the near future, in accordance with the OECD guidelines. Revision of the Mining Legal Framework The parliament, government and the RMB are revis - ing the mining legal framework to address some loopholes that have been identified over the past few years. The 2024 Mining Law and 2024 Minerals Tax Law have recently been adopted. Overall, Rwanda’s main priorities are to strengthen some investment incentives, and to ensure that LHs comply with health, environmental and safety stand - ards.
Lastly, the University of Rwanda and Rwanda Poly - technic both propose mining programmes that will prepare graduates for geology, environmental protec - tion and other related earth sciences. Processing and value-addition Rwanda’s near-future ambition is to become a mineral value-addition hub in the region and to attract inves - tors to set up modern value-addition processing in the country. Rwanda currently has three processing and valued- addition facilities: the Gasabo Gold Refinery, the Pow - er X Refinery (refining tantalum) and the LuNa smelter (smelting tin). The RMB is now actively seeking to attract investors wishing to establish other processing plants, in par - ticular for tungsten and lithium, as well as cutting and polishing facilities for gemstones. Investment incentives All mining activities related to exploration, process - ing and value-addition, and export, can benefit from investment incentives under the Investment Law.
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