East African Mining News Unearthing Mining Opportunities in East Africa
Related Articles
The successful assessment of LuNa Smelter as compliant to the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process validates the company’s management processes for responsible mineral procurement.
The tin smelter company was certified as fully compliant to the requirements of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain of Minerals as well as meets the demands of the mineral certification scheme of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
The successful assessment has been viewed by many as part of Rwanda’s vision to become a regional mineral processing hub, adding value to minerals mined in Rwanda and the region before exporting them.
“This is testament to the fact that LuNa Smelter adopts the best due diligence practices to operate in a safe and responsible manner that respects the environment, employees, customers and the communities in which the company operates,” says Dr Radoslaw Miskiewicz, the chairman of the supervisory board of LuNa Smelter.
“LuNa Smelter has committed itself to responsible sourcing in its production of the highest quality tin ingots. This reflects the company philosophy of value generation with special focus on CO2 trace limitation along with the sustainable development of the region,” Dr Miskiewicz adds.
“This certification confirms what we have always proven to the world: Rwanda is a conflict-free source of minerals. We have put in place different measures including deployment of tag managers at mining concessions to seal and record minerals produced to efficiently monitor and contain potential illegal dealing in minerals,” says Francis Gatare, the CEO of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB).
“This achievement is in line with the government’s 7-year programme – the National Strategy for Transformation – and contributes to the responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly development of the mining sector,’ Gatare adds.
Rwanda is re-designing the mining sector to transform mining resources into key drivers of the country’s growth during the National Strategy for Transformation.
The mining sector in Rwanda is going through a transition, as is the case with many African countries, moving from its traditional nature of small-scale exploitation with limited links to the rest of the economy to being a major foreign currency earner.
