Within the regional German support framework to the ICGLR, BGR supports the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority / Geology and Mines Department (RNRA/GMD) in their efforts to formalize the artisanal mining sector. Since re-privatizing the national mining sector, Rwanda has undertaken significant efforts to encourage investment into and development of the sector through updating the national governance and regulatory framework while also growing the sector’s contribution to national economic development. Mining laws were published in 2008 and 2014, and a national Mining Policy was developed in 2010. Milestone regulations have been issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIRENA) during this time period, including the regulations on mandatory mineral traceability (2011), implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism (2012), and introduction of mining royalties (2014). These efforts reflect the government’s ambition to provide a comprehensive and integrative legal framework for the national artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in order to leverage its potential for local and national development.

ASM Formalization Challenges in Rwanda
While the legal framework to develop the sector is well developed, challenges apply to the capacity of many mining sector stakeholders to successfully implement it and operate an economically sustainable business. From Rwanda’s more than 200 registered mining companies and cooperatives, the large majority currently comprises small-scale producers with less than two tons of concentrate production per month. These producers exploit near-surface, easily accessible portions of 3T mineralization and operate basic processing facilities. Mine management and business planning skills are underdeveloped for most producers. There is little re-investment into the sector to sustain and drive further growth, and access to finance through other sources is limited. Institutionalized supply chain due diligence responsibilities (auto-financed through a ca. 3% mineral export levy) represent an additional financial burden for many mineral producers and exporters.

Economic aspects of ASM formalization in Rwanda as a contribution to sustainable economic development represent a key area of BGR cooperation with RNRA/GMD. Activities are aligned with other relevant stakeholders such as the Rwanda Mining Association. In 2014, BGR and RNRA/GMD developed a concept for and managed the implementation of an evaluation study by ELL Ltd. to analyze mining revenue streams within Rwanda, including the absorption of due diligence implementation costs along different mineral supply chains segments. A follow-up subproject is presently designed by BGR and its Rwandan partners to evaluate the efficiency of traditional artisanal mineral processing techniques and the associated business planning implications.
Aside from these economic aspects, BGR’s on-going support for the GMD-led mine inspection process includes standard setting and enforcement in the ASM sector, e.g., through enhanced occupational health and safety procedures among small-scale producers, building on prior work conducted as part of the CTC pilot project. Repeated requests have been made from both government and private mining sector stakeholders in Rwanda to re-vitalize the concept of certifying responsible mining practice through CTC (complementary to regional certification through the ICGLR’s RCM), and BGR is internally evaluating the feasibility of supporting this process through an appropriate framework.

Through the German regional cooperation framework with the ICGLR, BGR has been partnering with the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority’s Geology and Mines Department (RNRA/GMD) since 2011. The project supports RNRA/GMD in implementing the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism (RCM) as well as in formalizing the artisanal and small-scale mining sector. This is done under the overall authority of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MINIRENA) hosting the office of the Minister of State in charge of mining.

At the national scale, the RCM focuses on three intervention levels:

1. Annual mine site inspections
2. Continuous chain of custody tracking
3. Container-based mineral export certification

Independent oversight on this national-level process framework is supposed to be provided through third party supply chain audits (focusing on exporters as the principle auditee), risk assessments and compliance monitoring through the Independent Mineral Chain Auditor, as well as a whistle blowing mechanism, all implemented at the regional (ICGL) level (see here for background documents with more information). The combined national-regional RCM process framework is formalized through the ICGLR Certification Manual and Appendix, integrated into Rwanda’s national legal framework through a regulation issued by the ministry of natural resources (MINIRENA) in March 2012.

BGR cooperation with RNRA/GMD focuses on

• Support to GMD’s mine inspection unit through organizing training courses for inspectors, facilitating the development of a RCM-compliant mine inspection form (which subsequently served as a reference to inspire development of similar forms in the DRC and Burundi), advisory services on data management, and demand-driven logistical support for mine inspections and training of artisanal miners by GMD inspectors;
• On-going capacity building for dedicated counterparts on mineral certification and advice on establishing a certification unit with associated ICGLR certification procedures; mentorship for partner counterparts was achieved through the project personnel’s active role in the government’s Strategic Capacity Building Initiative (SCBI) under a public capacity development support program with the Africa Governance Initiative;
• Supporting transparency and international outreach on due diligence and RCM-related activities in Rwanda through supporting partner counterparts’ attendance at relevant international due diligence events and peer exchange fora (e.g., ICGLR events, OECD fora, CFSI & PPA workshops);
• Supporting AFP infrastructure in Rwanda, through implementation of a country-wide sampling program and establishing a rock petrographic laboratory at GMD.

Regional Third-Party Verification
Independent third party verification of national-level activities forms an important component for RCM credibility and compliance with the OECD due diligence sourcing framework. For this reason, BGR provided supplementary regional-level support to the ICGLR audit committee in 2013. In coordination with the ICGLR secretariat, the committee is tasked to oversee and coordinate the third party exporter audit process as well as RCM standard development. BGR and the ICGLR audit committee developed the concept for and managed a consultancy by ELL Ltd. analyzing different audit schemes in the Great Lakes Region with a view to encouraging mutual alignment. The consultancy concept also included developing a regional audit template with guidelines and standard specifications. These documents were developed in cooperation with the ICGLR audit committee and secretariat, based on joined field assessments in Rwanda and the DRC. Both documents were reviewed and adopted by the ICGLR audit committee at their second meeting in Nairobi in October 2013.

The Certified Trading Chains (CTC) concept was first tested and piloted in Rwanda. BGR implemented the project from 2008-2011 in cooperation with the Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority (OGMR; subsequently incorporated as the Geology and Mines Department into the Rwanda Natural Resources Authority RNRA/GMD) from 2008-2011. The project mobilized local mining sector and downstream (smelter) participants on a voluntary base. Through the CTC pilot project in Rwanda, the feasibility and viability of the approach in an artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) context was successfully demonstrated for the first time. The CTC approach was further refined and developed as part of the process.

The project involved on-going stakeholder consultations steered through a national working group whose main members included OGMR, BGR and the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), working in close coordination with private participants. RBS also integrated the CTC standards into a national mining code of practice published in 2011. During project implementation, the CTC approach was adapted and optimized to manage initial challenges (e.g., with regards to the reproducibility of audit results). Indeed, it was found that integration of learning experiences, through on-going internal monitoring of the approach and concept as a whole, and flexibility in terms of formalized adaptations were the key for successful implementation.

Audits
Independent third-party baseline and compliance audits were performed at five Rwandan mineral producers who volunteered to participate in the project. After the initial round of baseline audits on individual sites, cross-cutting key areas for improvement among auditees were identified and external consultants were contracted by BGR to advise these auditees to catalyze the improvement process. It is important to note that, while guidance is offered as part of the CTC improvement concept, ultimately it is up to the auditee (and, ideally, its supply chain partners) to commit to and own the improvement process. Subsequent compliance audits documented systematic improvement among all auditees; three auditees were found to comply with the defined score to receive CTC certificates of compliance, valid for a period of three years. RBS issued these certificates in the frame of an international conference on due diligence and mineral certification, organized as part of the project in Kigali in March 2011 as one of the first such conferences in the whole region.

Average overall performance by individual mining companies for CTC baseline and compliance audits in Rwanda from 2009-2011 Source: BGR

Since 2012, there have not been any further CTC-related activities in Rwanda as the original pilot project had ended. However, certain aspects of the adapted CTC concept from Rwanda were integrated into the on-going project on mineral certification in the DR Congo. BGR has continued cooperation with RNRA in Rwanda under the framework of a regional cooperation program with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), focusing on implementation of the Regional Certification Mechanism and formalization of the ASM sector. Many original CTC-participating mining companies continue to score high in terms of regional due diligence efforts and responsible mining practice, and often provide an entry point for international stakeholders visiting the region.
Historical documents on the CTC pilot project in Rwanda can be found here.