Mining industry of Burundi

Burundi has resources of copper, cobalt, nickel, feldspar, phosphate rock, quartzite, and rare reserves of uranium, and vanadium.

[1] Under the Mining and Petroleum Act of 1976 (amended 1982) prospecting authorizations were granted for defined perimeters for two years and were renewable.

The holder of an exploitation permit could apply for a concession, granted for a period of 25 years, with the possibility of two 10-year renewals.

The code also covered artisanal exploitation, surface or shallow pit extraction and concentration using non-industrial processes.

Mining companies and cooperatives would under-report their output to avoid taxes, and individual miners would conceal part of their production and sell it to illicit traders.

In November 2019, the Government banned mining cooperatives and companies from selling gold to private buyers.

One Burundian and eleven Rwandans were arrested as they were getting ready to cross the Mwogere River border on the way to Gisenyi, Nyaruguru district in Rwanda.

[20] COMEBU (Comptoirs miniers des exploitations minières du Burundi) was granted a 25-year mining license to exploit coltan and cassiterite in the Commune of Kabarore, Kayanza Province, and cassiterite in Murehe, Kirundo Province at 2°49′20″S 29°33′56″E / 2.82211°S 29.56555°E / -2.82211; 29.56555 (COMEBU).

[22] Nickel laterites were found in the Musongati area in 1972 during a joint exploration program by the government of Burundi and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

[24] In December 2008 Samancor Nickel was granted a 3-year mining exploration permit on the perimeters of Musongati, Waga, and Nyabikere.

[14][b] On 3 March 2022 the government of Burundi revoked BMM International's nickel mining license by presidential decree, giving no reason.

[26] The rare earth elements are hosted in a system of narrow veins in the northeast-trending Kibaran Fold Belt consisting predominantly of bastnäsite with secondary monazite.

There were 12,000 tonnes of high-grade ore in the Gasagwe, Murambi South and Gomvyi Centre deposits, graded to 55% TREO.

In April 2015 Rainbows International Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary registered in the British Virgin Islands, was granted a rare earth exploitation permit, with a 25-year mining agreement.

[27] The processing plant was built in 2018 near the town of Kabezi about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Bujumbura between Lake Tanganyika to the west and the RN3 road to the east.

[30] The State-owned Office Nationale de la Tourbe (ONATOUR) is Burundi's only peat producer.

[11] ONATOUR was created by decree on 21 March 1977 with the mission of promoting and marketing peat and its derivatives to industry and agriculture.

ONATOUR planned to obtain a machine to manufacture the briquettes, and expected no problem meeting demand given Burundi's large peat reserves.