How was Trinity Metals created?
The company was born out of three assets: Rutongo Mines Limited, Eurotrade International Limited, and Piran Rwanda Limited. Since 2015, these assets have developed different industries. Piran, for instance, was initially intended to be a tailings processing project for a five- to seven-year period before it was deemed economically unviable. Then from around 2018, the company conducted a small-scale tin and tantalum mining operation of about 20 tons per month in scale. When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted these operations as well as those of the other two assets (then owned by TINCO), shareholders began discussions about combining these assets to form one Company, this would create synergies, scale and open up better opportunity for access to Capital.
After two years of negotiations between the shareholders and the government of Rwanda, thethree assets were merged into the company called Trinity Metals. During the past 18 months over $US 20 million was invested in the Nyakabingo and Rutongo assets. Trinity was officially established in May 2022 and I was appointed as the first CEO. One of the first tasks when I started was to put in place a five-year business plan, a management team, and board to address future operations as well as understand the economic potential of these assets. Over the past 12 months we have seen significant improvements in safety and production with a year on year improvement in our lost time injury-frequency rate by 70% and an increase in production by 45%.
After 30 years of experience in the mining industry, how has your work for the big players in the industry helped you jump-start operations at Trinity Metals?
The Rwandans are some of the hardest working and most committed people I have met, and it has been a pleasure to share my experiences from the many places I have worked. It has been very rewarding training and implementing the foundational systems that I have learned from my previous experiences working for other mining companies. I found that in Rwanda there is no resistance to change, but rather the recognition that new approaches will benefit the industry and the country in the long term.
What attraction do investors see in minerals? What do these commodities contribute to the green transition?
I think that the western world is realizing that it needs to find many alternative supply chains for critical minerals. If you think about the minerals Trinity produces and you talk about a green revolution, you need to think no further than all the tin that is required for soldering solar panels. All common IT products, including laptops, computers, and iPhones require tin in their manufacturing process. There is an overreliance on Asia for the supply of these critical minerals and more diverse supply chains of these minerals is required which bodes well for emerging Companies like Trinity Metals.
What are the prospects of tungsten in Rwanda?
The prospects for growth in Tungsten Mining in the Country are very positive. If we look at our asset, Nyakabingo, which is the largest Tungsten Mine in Rwanda, we are forecasting a total output of more than 1 million tons of wolfram this year – more than 50% higher production than in 2022. Future plans at this mine include doubling mining production by opening virgin ground at depth and the construction of a processing facility which will scale production up to two hundred tons per month within the next 5 years. Our current strategy is to explore new potential assets in Rwanda to incorporate into our operations and further scale production at Trinity Metals.
How do you predict Rwanda’s economy will grow in the next 5 to ten years if the mining industry continues to prosper?
Investors are starting to become curious about Rwanda’s mining potential. The Country has in the past not been well known for mining which has in the main remained a small scale industry with very little exploration investment. From my perspective things are changing - there is a common vision shared by the Rwandan Mining Board (RMB), the other key Government Stakeholders, the Investors, other Governments represented in Rwanda and to grow the Mining Industry to reach its full potential.
Key stakeholder governments like the United Kingdom, the European Union States, Japan and the United States have a strong presence in Rwanda and have all shown strong support for moving the Mining Industry forward.
The Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is a 15% shareholder in Techmet, one of Trinity Metals’ largest shareholders, is also all showing interest in investment and providing support for Trinity Metals growth ambitions.
There seems to be a global concern across various industries about the apparent gap between supply and demand. Do you share this worry when you think of the development of the mining industry?
I believe that there are still many untapped resources across the world that can be turned from exploration plays to operating mines relatively quickly with the right investment appetite. Rwanda is ideally placed to capitalize on this with an exceptional business and investment climate. The Ntunga’s Lithium deposit at Trinity’s Musha Mine Is an example of this potential – we are currently undertaking a drilling program which will be completed in Q1 2024 and we are confident that the results will provide us with an opportunity to develop the asset further. So, Investors and mining companies need to start thinking broader than the traditional jurisdictions and exploring countries like Rwanda to find new mining sites to work on.
