Rwanda has received mobile equipment worth more than Rwf470 million (€318,172) for the digitalisation of its mining sector and ensuring the safety of staff, from the European Union (EU) and Germany, according to information from German Development Agency GIZ.

The equipment includes digital tools comprising 155 laptops, 10 tablets, and 35 smartphones, for Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) staff and field inspectors. There are also occupational health and safety inspection tools to enhance oversight of private operators and ensure compliance with international environmental standards.

They include multi-gas detectors and dust monitors for measuring dust concentration in a given area.

Others are laboratory and training equipment for Rutongo Mining School in Rulindo District, Northern Province, to support practical skills training in mining and safety, sound level meters, and environmental meters.

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The equipment was procured under an ongoing €4.15 million project called Sustainable Development of the Mining Sector in Rwanda.

The project goals are strengthening Rwanda’s mining sector, improving entrepreneurship and business environment, increasing investment in the mining industry, and supporting Rwanda’s socio-economic development through strategic partnerships.

It is co-funded by EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Its implementation is led by GIZ in partnership with RMB and Rutongo Mining School.

RMB CEO Francis Kamanzi said that the cooperation with EU and Germany is "an important and timely one”.

He pointed out that it came at the right time when Rwanda is moving ahead with the digitisation of all government sectors, adding that the country’s mining sector "being an important pillar of our country’s development cannot lag behind.”

"That’s where we really value going digital. Our sector has been manual for many years,” he said, appreciating Sustainable Development of the Mining Sector in Rwanda project for its contribution towards addressing the issue.

Manual operations, he said, result in missing a lot in terms of reporting and inspection, among others.

"Mining is done on the ground, in our environment it’s very conflicting with many of the environment principles, many of the agriculture areas. That’s why we have to really move ahead and protect our environment as we move to the sustainable mining. That’s our vision,” he said.

Marc Baxmann, a policy advisor for economic cooperation and development at the Embassy of Germany in Rwanda, said that the equipment will support Rwanda to fully tap into the potential of its mining sector for economic and social development.

"It will enhance the capacities of RMB to fulfill its mandate and oversee the mining sector in accordance with the country’s second National Strategy for Transformation,” he said.

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EU Ambassador to Rwanda Belén Calvo Uyarra observed that part of the equipment will enhance the service delivery and the geological information and the mining cadastre system and the digital mineral traceability system, while the other part will ensure compliance with RMB inspectors’ occupational health, safety and environmental standards.

"All this equipment will help supporting the digitalisation, the modernisation of the mining sector, and the compliance with the environmental, labour standards, traceability and transparency standards that we are all committed to in our partnership,” she said.

Rwanda targets to generate $ 2.17 billion in annual mineral exports by 2029, up from $1.1 billion generated in 2023, under the second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2).