Rwanda: Mineral export values slump

THE VALUE of Rwanda’s mineral exports in the first half dropped by almost a fifth, even as the volume of sales rose, because of a fall in tantalum prices, Minister for Mines Evode Imena said yesterday. Shipments of minerals brought in $93.5 million (R997m), down from $114.9m in the six months to June last year. Volumes climbed 13 percent to 5 200 tons. “Tantalum prices will definitely affect this year’s mining revenue,” Imena said. Prices of tantalite ore fell to $80 a pound at the start of this year from $124 in June last year, before recovering to $100 this June. In 2012 Rwanda produced 12 percent of global output of tantalum, a metal used in cellphones, US Geological Survey data show. – Bloomberg