Rwanda’s authorities will achieve tagging of 80% of its minerals by the end of March, in line with US requirements on conflict minerals, the country’s New Times newspaper reported. Michael Biryabarema, Director General of Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority (OGMR), told an international conference in Kigali that four local mining firms had joined a pilot survey to ascertain levels of good governance in Rwanda’s mining sector, while nine companies were being included in the iTSCi tagging scheme. The conference attracted mineral authorities, dealers and experts from the Great Lakes Region as well as international stakeholders and investors.
Lahra Liberti of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said that the US law has no specific deadline for countries to implement the tagging scheme, but it requires a disclosure of use of minerals from DRC and its neighbours. Liberata Mulamula, the Executive Secretary of International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) told the New Times: "Certifying and tagging minerals from the region will improve transparency and good governance in the extraction process, support compliance with minimum social standards, and counter illegal trade."