Rwanda and global mining giant Rio Tinto Minerals Development signed a lithium exploration and mining agreement in Rwanda’s Western Province yesterday (January 29, 2024). The deal with Rwanda follows Rio Tinto’s joint venture with London-listed Aterian Plc and will give the diversified miner’s Minerals Development team access to the rapidly increasing and evolving extraction of essential minerals for batteries. Rio’s collaboration with Aterian includes the development of projects to produce lithium and other byproducts.
The announcement comes after President Paul Kagame and Jakob Stausholm, CEO of mining giant Rio Tinto, met in January 2024 at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss collaborations and investment potential in Rwanda’s mining sector. Zimbabwe, DRC, Namibia and Mali are significant lithium jurisdictions on the continent. While Rio enters the lithium race, peers like as BHP, Vale, and Anglo American have increased their investment in battery metals such as copper, nickel, manganese, and cobalt. Glencore has expressed an interest in trading lithium rather than mining and beneficiation. Exxon Mobil and Chevron are also increasing their stakes in lithium mining as road transport electrification reduces oil demand
