Rogi Mining in final stages of gold exploration

Rwanda is expected to get a major lift in its mineral diversification plans after Rogi Mining Rwanda, one of the country’s largest gold explorers, announced that it is in the final stages of fieldworks in Miyove, Northern Province, to ascertain whether the gold deposits were enough for commercial purposes.Rogi Mining Rwanda owns three properties in Rwanda, with its principal asset being the 2,937 hectare Miyove Gold Project.In an interview with The Sunday Times yesterday, Oleg Moiseev, the Managing Director of Rogi Mining Rwanda, said drilling programs which commenced in June are expected to be completed around October or November this year.“It will also take one to two months to process the samples in order to get the results. So, we will have a vision if Rwanda has commercial gold deposit in Miyove Northern Province early next year,” Moiseev said.“The results of our previous exploration activities show that Miyove project is prospective. That is why we proceeded with expensive drilling program that cost to the tune of US$2 million.”According to the Rwandan Mining Code, the company can acquire a mining permit only after it has presented final evaluation of the reserves and although no company in Rwanda has a permit to mine gold, Moiseev is hopeful that after the exploration phase, Rogi Mining will apply for a gold mining permit next year.“We are always in touch with government officials regarding our activities: the Ministry of Natural Resources, the department of Geology and Mines of Rwanda National Resources Agency (RNRA) and local authorities in the Northern Province. We have good support from them, so it helps us to achieve our goals as soon as possible,” he added.In 2010 Rogi Mining Rwanda signed a merger agreement with Simba Gold Corp., a Canadian company, and consequently became the first public mining company in Rwanda, listed on Toronto stock exchange. The initiative has enabled the company to raise US$6.5 million (Rwf3.9 billion) for the development of the Miyove gold project.