KIRUNDO, January 20th (ABP) – A delegation chaired by the Minister in charge of Finance, Nestor Ntahontuye, sent by the Head of State, on Thursday, January 16, 2025 visited the Murehe cassiterite and coltan mineral exploitation site located in Busoni district in Kirundo province (north), a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
During the Head of State’s visit in July 2024 to the same mineral exploitation site, he promised that the government will support the industrial and rapid exploitation of those minerals. It is in this context that this visit was made to inquire about the preparations of the new SOTREVO Company which will exploit those minerals.
The delegation was made up of the Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, the Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB), Edouard Normand Bigendako and the Director General of the Burundi Mines and Quarries Authority (OBM), Ir. Quesnay de Jésus Akabahinga.
The Minister in charge of Finance indicated, in an interview with the press, that the machines are on their way from abroad to facilitate the industrial exploitation of the minerals. He also specified that the Ministry in charge of Finance has provided, in this year’s budget law, the funds allocated to this work.
According to Minister Ntahontuye, the government’s wish is that this project be executed at a very rapid pace to have production in a short period of time.
It is worth noting that the Murehe site contains approximately 13 million tons of cassiterite and coltan ores, as site managers have indicated.