Big payday: Rwanda savours new mineral wealth amid sanctions

A general view shows a mineral processing plant in Gatumba, Western Rwanda. 

Photo credit: Reuters

In 2024, Rwanda earned $1.7 billion from mineral exports, with gold contributing to 88.2 percent of the receipts, or $1.5 billion. 

And now, the government says it targets $2.2 million revenue target, despite sanctions imposed by Western powers over allegations of supporting the war in the mining regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and allegations that it has been aiding passage of “conflict minerals”.