Rwanda’s tin processor, Luna Smelter, has qualified for Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), which offers companies and their suppliers an independent third-party audit that verifies systems in place to responsibly source minerals in line with international standards.

The RMAP certificate, formally referred to as the “Conflict-Free Smelter Program”, will go along way in dispelling international bias minerals from the region, which have for long been considered a source of conflict and smuggling.

“This is confirmation of what we have always told to the world: Rwanda is a conflict-free source of minerals. We have put in place different measures including the deployment of tag managers at mining concessions to seal and record minerals produced.

This way, we efficiently monitor and contain potential illegal dealing in minerals,” Francis Gatare, the CEO of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board said in a statement.

As a result of the evaluation Luna Smelter which is the only tin smelter in the region is now compliant to the requirements of the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain of Minerals as well as meets demands of the mineral certification scheme of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.

“This is a sign that Luna Smelter adopts due diligence in order to operate in a safe and responsible manner that respects the environment, employees, customers and the communities in which the company operates in,” Radoslaw Miskiewicz, the chairman of the supervisory board of Luna Smelter said.

Luna Smelter was established in 2018 by a European Industrial Group Luma Holding in partnership with a government parastatal Ngali Holdings to produce quality ingots for export.

The country also launched its first gold refinery in June last year Aldango Gold Refinery which is a $5 million investment with plans to purchase gold from the region and refine it for export.

Rwanda is in the process of redesigning the mining sector in a bid to move away from traditional artisanal mining to large private investments, targeting to earn up to $800 million from mineral exports by 2020. The revenues from its principal minerals, tin, wolfram and coltan, fell drastically to $97.6 million in 2019 from $142 million collected in 2018, according to the Central Bank.