Raw material policy in the dimension of rare earth metals. Rwanda – a case study

Abstract

The primary goal of a state's raw material policy is to ensure its raw material security. Due to the progressing technological development, rare earth metals play an increasingly important role. For several years, they have become the subject of a political game between the countries that play a dominant role in their market, ie the People's Republic of China and the United States. The other countries where the discussed groups of metals are mined were left on the sidelines of the discussion. The aim of the research undertaken in this article is to show the role of rare earth metals in creating raw material security on the example of Rwanda. It is home to some of the largest deposits of niobium and tantalum, key elements used in electronics, the aviation industry, and medical devices. The main result of the research carried out is the fact that the extraction of rare earth metals is one of the foundations of the Rwandan economy. In recent years, there has been a significant professionalization of mining practices, bearing in mind the environment, health, and safety. It was also established that the factors that pose the most important threat to Rwanda's raw material policy include the currently uneasy situation on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the largest deposits of the metals in question are located, and the negative effects of the global Sars-Cov-2 pandemic.