Insights · Sectors
Gold in Rwanda: a large export, a small mine output, and five ways in
Gold became Rwanda's largest single export in 2024, worth USD 1.5 billion out of USD 1.7 billion in mineral sales. Most of that metal did not come out of Rwandan mines. The gap between domestic output and exports is the starting point for every bank, refiner and buyer that looks at Rwandan gold, and since March 2025 the country's only operating refinery has been under EU sanctions, and under US sanctions since June 2026. This article sets out the numbers, the mines, the refining history, the gold-specific rules and the buyer-side standards, and then ranks the routes in for a foreign company by risk. The general mining law, licences and taxes are covered in our companion piece on mining and minerals in Rwanda.
Key takeaways
- Rwanda exported USD 885 million of gold in 2023 and USD 1.5 billion in 2024. After the EU listed the Gasabo Gold Refinery in March 2025, gold exports fell to USD 517 million in 2025, according to IMF data reported by Bloomberg.
- Domestic mine output is far smaller. The US Geological Survey last estimated it at about 2.9 tonnes a year in 2018 and 2019, while the UAE recorded 19 tonnes of gold imported from Rwanda in 2024. The difference is regional gold refined or traded in Kigali. President Kagame has said that some of it comes from the DR Congo.
- Gold pays a 0.5% royalty and, if exported unprocessed, a 0.5% export tax under Law N° 056/2024. Unlike other processed minerals, gold imported for re-export is not exempt from the minerals tax.
- Gasabo Gold Refinery, described by LBMA in March 2025 as Rwanda's only gold refinery, is listed by the EU and designated by the US Treasury, together with its chairman, its general manager and three mining companies. No Rwandan refinery is on the LBMA Good Delivery List.
- For a foreign newcomer, gold refining and gold trading carry the highest risk. Services to licensed mines and a joint venture with a licensed mine whose production can be traced are the realistic places to start.
Sources: The EastAfrican via Zawya, "Rwanda's gold refinery under fire as sanctions threaten key export" (March 2025), for 2023; The New Times, "Rwanda records $1.5bn in gold exports in 2024", citing Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente (28/03/2025); Bloomberg via MINING.COM (25/06/2026); USGS Minerals Yearbook, Rwanda 2019, Table 1; SWISSAID data via Ecofin Agency (06/11/2025); KT Press (28/11/2025); RRA, "Tax on minerals reduced" (2024); LBMA Responsible Sourcing Newsletter (27/03/2025).
The gap between mines and exports
Gold is a small part of Rwanda's mining in tonnes and the largest part in dollars. The three tin, tantalum and tungsten minerals earned USD 231 million in 2024, according to the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). Gold earned about six times as much. That proportion is the opposite of what Rwanda's geology suggests, and it explains why buyers and banks treat Rwandan gold as a separate risk category from Rwandan tin or tungsten.
There is no recent official figure for domestic gold mine production that we could verify. The last published estimate is from the US Geological Survey: 319 kg in 2015, 336 kg in 2016, about 1,600 kg in 2017 and about 2,900 kg in each of 2018 and 2019, all marked as estimates. The US Commerce Department's 2026 country guide lists local production as not available. On the export side, SWISSAID's analysis of UAE customs data puts gold imported into the UAE from Rwanda at 19 tonnes in 2024.
The difference is regional gold. Rwanda's tax law expects it: Law N° 056/2024 avoids taxing minerals sourced outside Rwanda as Rwandan production and contains a specific rule for gold imported for re-export. President Kagame said in November 2025 that "more gold comes from, and has been coming through here or sold here, from Congo", passing through Burundi or Uganda, and that this flow predates Rwanda's prominence in the gold market. In December 2025 he added that Rwanda's gold exports should not all be assumed to be Congolese. Both statements matter for a buyer. The legal question is never whether regional gold passes through Kigali. It is whether each lot was mined, traded and exported lawfully, outside armed-group control, and documented accordingly.
Sources: BNR, Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement (March 2025), Table 10; USGS Minerals Yearbook, Rwanda 2019; US International Trade Administration, Rwanda Country Commercial Guide, mining and minerals (last published 18/03/2026); Ecofin Agency on SWISSAID UAE import data (06/11/2025); RRA on Law N° 056/2024 (2024); KT Press (28/11/2025); The New Times via allAfrica, Kagame interview (08/12/2025).
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic gold mine output, estimated | 336 kg | 2016 | USGS |
| Domestic gold mine output, estimated | 2,900 kg | 2019 | USGS |
| Gold exports, value | USD 885m | 2023 | The EastAfrican |
| Gold exports, value | USD 1.5bn | 2024 | Government of Rwanda |
| UAE gold imports from Rwanda | 19 t | 2024 | SWISSAID, UAE customs data |
| Gold exports, value | USD 517m | 2025 | IMF data via Bloomberg |
| All mineral exports, value | USD 1.7bn | 2024 | Government of Rwanda |
| 3T mineral exports, value | USD 231m | 2024 | BNR |
Sources as above. Figures from different sources use different bases (value, weight, fiscal or calendar year), so they are shown side by side, not combined. The EastAfrican names the UAE as the main destination of Rwandan gold.
Never present Rwandan gold to a buyer as "Rwandan origin" without mine-level evidence. A refiner's compliance team already knows the export and production figures above. A file that names the mine, the licence and the chain of custody for each lot gets read; a file that relies on the country of export does not.
Mines
Where gold is mined in Rwanda
Gold occurs in the north, the west and the south-west. Most of it is worked by artisanal and small-scale miners holding small-scale licences or working for licence holders.
The US Geological Survey lists gold mining in five districts: Gicumbi, Karongi, Nyamagabe, Nyamasheke and Rusizi. Miyove, in Gicumbi District in the Northern Province, is where Rwanda's own gold was first found during the 1990 to 1994 war, according to President Kagame, who said in November 2025 that artisanal mining has continued there since and that officials now describe deep exploration at the site. The state-linked Ngali Mining Ltd, a subsidiary of Ngali Holdings, holds gold-prospective concessions at Bweyeye and Miyove. Exploratory geological work is reported in the Nyungwe National Park area in the south-west, and an artisanal gold rush in Musanze District in 2025.
Rwanda's ibirombe (mines) for gold are small by world standards. There is no large-scale industrial gold mine in production that we could verify. Exploration is the frontier: the Mining Investment Pitchbook of 2025 opened ten blocks to investors, and Kagame's December 2025 remarks named gold among the critical minerals Rwanda holds alongside tungsten, tin, tantalum, beryllium and lithium.
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining
Artisanal and small-scale mining accounts for about 80% of Rwanda's mining sector, and gold is no exception. Miners work in cooperatives or as employees of small licence holders. Rwanda has a national action plan for artisanal and small-scale gold mining filed under the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which targets mercury use in gold recovery. Illegal mining is a recurring enforcement issue: police in Rusizi District arrested 11 people for illegal gold mining in 2016, and the 2024 mining law raised penalties to two to five years' imprisonment and fines up to RWF 50 million for unlicensed mining.
For a buyer, artisanal gold is the hardest category to document and the one international guidance most wants to keep in formal trade. The LBMA's Responsible Gold Guidance eliminates cash transactions for its refiners except for artisanal and small-scale mining, where they need approval. A foreign company that wants to work with artisanal gold needs to plan for formalisation support, mercury controls, cashless payments and mine-site visits from the start.
Sources: USGS Minerals Yearbook, Rwanda 2019, Table 2; KT Press (28/11/2025); The New Times via allAfrica (08/12/2025); Shore Africa, "7 mining companies expanding Rwanda's resource boom" (30/03/2026), for Ngali Mining; Chambers Global Practice Guide Mining 2026: Rwanda (27/01/2026); Minamata Convention, Rwanda national action plan for ASGM (accessed October 2026); The New Times, Rusizi arrests (26/07/2016); Stabit Advocates on Law N° 072/2024, Art. 63 (02/06/2026); LBMA, launch of Responsible Gold Guidance version 9 (29/11/2021).
Before any agreement with a gold mine, visit it. Production claims are easy to compare with what a site can physically produce: number of workers, equipment, water, processing method and storage. A mine that claims kilograms a month with a handful of pans is a red flag that no paperwork will cure.
Refining
Two refineries, two histories
Kigali has hosted two gold refineries since 2019. Neither is accredited to the London market, and the current one is under sanctions.
Aldango, Kigali Special Economic Zone, 2019 to 2021
Rwanda's first gold refinery, Aldango, opened in the Kigali Special Economic Zone in Gasabo District in June 2019, with a stated capacity of about 6 tonnes a month. It was a 50/50 joint venture between Aldabra, owned by the Belgian gold dealer Alain Goetz, and the majority state-owned Ngali Mining. Rwandan officials suspended Aldango's export licence in January 2021. Goetz says the refinery was confiscated. In March 2022 the US Treasury designated Goetz and nine entities in Uganda, the UAE, Belgium and the Seychelles, among them AGOR DMCC and Goetz Gold LLC in Dubai, for trade in gold from the DR Congo. No Rwandan entity was on that list; the sanctions research firm Kharon reported that Goetz controlled Aldango through a UAE-based firm. LBMA reported that Goetz lost an appeal against his US listing in March 2025.
Gasabo Gold Refinery, Kigali, from 2022
Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd was incorporated in May 2022 and began refining on 01/06/2022, after Aldango closed. LBMA described it in March 2025 as Rwanda's only gold refinery, with a capacity of 96 tonnes a year, known to trade in the UAE. On 17/03/2025 the Council of the EU listed it for importing gold from M23-controlled areas of the DR Congo. On 25/06/2026 the US Treasury designated it under Executive Order 13413, together with its chairman Jean Malic Kalima, its general manager Bosco Kayobotsi and three companies Kalima controls: Bugambira Mines Ltd, Wolfram Mining and Processing Ltd and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation Ltd. Treasury alleged that at least 60 kg of gold moved from M23 and Rwanda Defence Force held areas of South Kivu to the refinery in early 2026.
Accreditation and the Dubai link
No Rwandan refinery appears on the LBMA Good Delivery List. In July 2026 Ecofin Agency reported that Rand Refinery in South Africa was the only African refiner with LBMA accreditation. Rwandan doré and refined gold has therefore gone mainly to the UAE, where refiners and dealers operate under the UAE Ministry of Economy's due diligence regulations and, for members, the DMCC's responsible sourcing rules. In March 2025 LBMA asked its Good Delivery refiners and members to check their supply chains for any link to Gasabo or the then RMB chief executive, especially in sourcing relationships in the UAE, where it said Gasabo is known to trade. Kagame said in November 2025 that the EU sanctions targeted individuals and that Rwanda was still selling its gold to the EU.
The LuNa tin smelter at Karuruma and the Power X tantalum refinery are the other two value-addition plants listed by Chambers; neither refines gold.
Sources: The New Times, "Rwanda gets first gold refinery" (19/06/2019); The Africa Report, interview with Alain Goetz (accessed October 2026); OFAC recent actions, 17/03/2022; Kharon, "Global network involved in illicit gold trade sanctioned" (accessed October 2026); LBMA Responsible Sourcing Newsletter (27/03/2025); OpenSanctions record for Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd (accessed October 2026); allAfrica on EU listings (18/03/2025); US Treasury press release SB0543 (25/06/2026); Ecofin Agency, "Why West African gold refineries still depend on a London institution" (06/07/2026); KT Press (28/11/2025).
If a Rwandan counterparty tells you its gold was refined in Kigali, ask where and when. Since June 2022 Gasabo has been the only gold refinery LBMA identifies in Rwanda, and gold refined there carries sanctions exposure for EU and US buyers, banks and insurers, whatever the upstream paperwork says.
Rules
What applies to gold specifically
The licence system and corporate tax are the same as for other minerals (see licences and tax). These are the points where gold differs.
| Rule | Rate | What it means for gold | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining royalty tax | 0.5% | Of the norm value, down from 6% under the 2013 law. Withheld and remitted by the local refinery or exporter. | Law N° 056/2024; RRA |
| Export tax on unprocessed gold | 0.5% | Of the norm value, on doré or other unrefined gold exported. Declared and paid before export. | Law N° 056/2024; RRA |
| Re-export of imported gold | No exemption | Processed minerals imported for re-export are exempt, except gold; RRA says gold receives special treatment regardless of quantity. | RRA |
| Norm value | Market based | International market value on the date the sale certificate is granted, less approved processing costs. | RRA |
| Proof of origin | 10% | Administrative fine on minerals held without proof of origin, plus confiscation and auction. | Law N° 072/2024, Art. 50 |
| Capital gains on licence or share transfer | 10% | Applies to transfers of mining licences since Law N° 014/2025; registered investors may be exempt. | Chambers 2026 |
Sources: RRA, "Tax on minerals reduced" (2024), on Law N° 056/2024 of 26/06/2024; Chambers Global Practice Guide Mining 2026: Rwanda (27/01/2026); Stabit Advocates on Law N° 072/2024 (02/06/2026).
Licences, certificates and export
Buying and exporting gold requires a mineral trading licence from the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB); refining requires a mineral processing licence. A mining licence holder may export its own production without a separate trading licence but needs an export permit. Each sale generates an RMB sale certificate, which fixes the norm value for the royalty. Under the Regional Certification Mechanism of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), implemented in Rwanda by Ministerial Regulations N° 002/2012/MINIRENA of 28/03/2012, exports of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold travel with a regional certificate. In the Kinyarwanda texts, mineral trading is ubucuruzi bw'amabuye y'agaciro (trade in minerals), the phrase used in the title of the 2011 anti-smuggling regulations.
Money laundering and cash
Dealers in precious metals and precious stones are reporting persons under Article 7(1)(e) of Law N° 028/2023 of 19/05/2023 on preventing and punishing money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. They identify customers and beneficial owners, keep records and report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre, whose governing Law N° 045/2021 was amended in 2025. The 2023 law also covers cash transaction reporting and cross-border cash couriers; the thresholds are in the implementing rules, which we check for each file. In practice, a gold business that pays miners or suppliers in cash is unlikely to open or keep a bank account.
Foreign exchange
BNR Regulation N° 42/2022 on foreign exchange operations, as amended by Regulation N° 89/2025 dated 23/05/2025 and published on 30/05/2025, requires domestic transactions in Rwandan francs. The amended Article 20 expressly allows payment in foreign currency for exported and imported goods. Domestic purchases from miners are priced and paid in francs unless BNR authorises otherwise, and pricing in foreign currency without authorisation carries fines of RWF 5 million, then RWF 10 million. Export proceeds arrive through an authorised bank, which will usually match them to the export declaration, the sale certificate and the ICGLR certificate.
Sources: Chambers Mining 2026: Rwanda (27/01/2026); Ministerial Regulations N° 002/2012/MINIRENA (IEA policy database); Ministerial Regulations N° 001/MINIFOM/2011 of 10/03/2011, Official Gazette n° 12 of 21/03/2011; Law N° 028/2023 of 19/05/2023, Art. 7 (RegAlert); ENSafrica on the amendment of Law N° 045/2021 (13/10/2025); Afriwise on BNR Regulation N° 89/2025 (2025); PKF East Africa on BNR foreign exchange rules (2025).
The first document a Rwandan bank asks a gold trader for is not the licence. It is the list of suppliers with their RMB licence numbers and the method of payment to each. Build that register before you apply for the account.
Buyer side
The standards your buyer applies
Rwanda's rules decide whether gold can leave the country. These standards decide whether anyone will buy it.
OECD Guidance, Annex II and gold supplement
The OECD Due Diligence Guidance (third edition, 2016) has a dedicated supplement on gold. Its Annex II model policy lists the risks that require a buyer to suspend or end a relationship, including direct or indirect support to non-state armed groups. Every standard below builds on it.
LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance
Version 9, applicable from 01/01/2022, binds all Good Delivery refiners. It adds ESG risk assessment, removes cash transactions except approved artisanal sourcing, and requires annual third-party assurance. LBMA has told its refiners to check for any connection to Gasabo.
Responsible Jewellery Council
The RJC Code of Practices and Chain-of-Custody Standard apply to certified jewellers, refiners and traders. A jewellery buyer will ask whether your gold can enter a certified chain, which in practice means an accredited refiner at the end.
UAE Ministry of Economy regulations
The Due Diligence Regulations for Responsible Sourcing of Gold, published on 14/09/2022 and audited from 01/01/2023, require UAE refiners and dealers to appoint a compliance officer, assess supplier risk, commission independent reviews and report annually to the Ministry.
Swiss due diligence ordinance
Under Arts. 964j et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations and the Due Diligence and Transparency Ordinance, in force since January 2023, Swiss companies importing or processing gold from conflict-affected areas above set thresholds run a due diligence system, have it audited and report annually.
EU Regulation 2017/821
EU importers of 100 kg or more of unwrought gold a year follow the OECD five steps, obtain third-party audits and report to their national authority. The EU's conflict-affected areas list and its March 2025 listing of Gasabo both feed into their risk assessment.
Sources: OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, third edition (2016), Annex II and Supplement on Gold; LBMA, "LBMA launches Responsible Gold Guidance version 9" (29/11/2021) and Responsible Sourcing Newsletter (27/03/2025); Responsible Jewellery Council, Code of Practices (2019) and Chain-of-Custody Standard; Lexis Middle East on the UAE Ministry of Economy regulations (14/09/2022); Sidley Austin on the Swiss ordinance (19/04/2023); Regulation (EU) 2017/821, Annex I, and Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs guidance (accessed October 2026).
OFAC exposure after June 2026
Since 25/06/2026 the following are on the US Specially Designated Nationals list: Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd, Jean Malic Kalima, Bosco Kayobotsi, Bugambira Mines Ltd, Wolfram Mining and Processing Ltd and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation Ltd. The Rwanda Defence Force was sanctioned on 02/03/2026. US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with designated parties, and under OFAC's 50 percent rule, entities owned 50% or more by one or more designated persons are blocked too, whether or not they are named. Non-US companies face secondary exposure through US dollar payments, US banks and US customers. Gasabo has been on the EU list since 17/03/2025, under Council Regulation (EC) N° 1183/2005 on the DR Congo, which freezes its funds and bars making funds available to it in the EU.
What screening means in practice
- Screen every party, not only the buyerSupplier, mine owner, transporter, refiner, exporter and each of their beneficial owners, against the OFAC SDN list, the EU consolidated list and the UK list.
- Trace ownership to 50%A company with no listed name can still be blocked if designated persons together own half of it. Ask for the shareholder register and beneficial ownership declaration.
- Identify the refiner for every lotGold that has passed through Gasabo since its listing is exposed, whoever sells it to you.
- Re-screen at each contract and paymentThe US list grew in March and June 2026. A clean result last quarter is not a clean result today.
- Keep the evidenceScreening results, dates and reviewer, filed with the lot documents for at least the ten years Rwandan company law requires for records.
Sources: US Treasury press release SB0543 (25/06/2026); OFAC guidance on entities owned by blocked persons (50 percent rule); Council Regulation (EC) N° 1183/2005 and OJ L 2025/509 (OpenSanctions references, accessed October 2026); Law N° 019/2023 amending the companies law, Art. 4 (records 10 years).
Write the refiner exclusion into the contract. A supply agreement that names approved refiners, bars designated ones and gives you a right to terminate on a sanctions hit protects you better than any after-the-fact screening.
Context
The gold allegations and Rwanda's answer
Reported here as stated by each side, with sources. We take no position on them.
The allegations
The UN Group of Experts on the DR Congo has focused its 2024 and 2025 reports (S/2024/969 and S/2025/446) mainly on tin, tantalum and tungsten, documenting coltan from Rubaya entering Rwanda and being mixed with local production. Gold-specific accusations against Kigali have come mainly from governments. The EU listed Gasabo in March 2025 for importing gold from M23-controlled areas. The US Treasury designated Gasabo in June 2026, alleging that Rwandan government forces had "strict oversight of the gold until it reached Gasabo Gold" and that at least 60 kg moved from South Kivu in early 2026. In September 2026 an M23 spokesman told BBC Gahuzamiryango that gold and coltan from eastern DR Congo pass through Rwanda to international markets, describing this as normal regional transit.
Rwanda's position
Rwanda rejects the allegations. Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the June 2026 US sanctions "biased" and "unjustified". Government spokesperson Yolande Makolo has said Rwanda operates a regulated, formalised mining sector with certified commercial refining. President Kagame said that the EU sanctions targeted individuals, not the sector, that Rwanda was still selling gold to the EU, and that Rwanda has its own gold, first found at Miyove. He acknowledged that gold from the DR Congo has long moved through or been sold in the region, including Rwanda, while saying that Rwandan exports should not be assumed to be Congolese.
The Washington framework
The Regional Economic Integration Framework published by the US State Department on 04/12/2025, alongside the Washington Accords for Peace and Prosperity signed by Presidents Tshisekedi and Kagame, commits both countries to establish traceability, eliminate corruption and smuggling, formalise artisanal and small-scale mining and build a mineral trade "free of illicit flows or conflict financing". The published fact sheet contains no gold-specific provision. The US Treasury presented its June 2026 designations as support for the Accords and the framework. For a foreign company the practical reading is simple: the framework raises the standard of proof expected for cross-border mineral flows, and gold is the mineral where that proof is hardest.
Sources: UN Group of Experts reports S/2024/969 and S/2025/446 as reported by Reuters via MINING.COM (08/01/2025) and Xtrafrica (25/09/2026); allAfrica on EU listings (18/03/2025); US Treasury SB0543 (25/06/2026); Al Jazeera (06/07/2026); Bloomberg via MINING.COM (02/07/2025); KT Press (28/11/2025); The New Times via allAfrica (08/12/2025); US State Department, Regional Economic Integration Framework fact sheet (04/12/2025).
Routes in
Five routes, ranked from lowest to highest risk
For each route: the licence, the capital it ties up, what the bank asks for, and what usually stops it. Capital is described in kind, because it depends on the project.
| Route | Licence | Capital | Bank file | Typical blockers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Equipment, assay and laboratory services | No RMB licence for the supplier; sector accreditation for a laboratory | Working capital and stock; laboratory equipment for assay | Company documents, customer list, contracts, source of funds | Customer concentration on a single licence holder; laboratory accreditation time |
| 2. Mine-site services to licence holders | No RMB licence; ordinary company and tax registrations | Equipment, staff, insurance | Service contracts, client licence numbers, screening of clients | A client later designated; payment in cash by small miners |
| 3. Joint venture with a licensed mine | RMB approval for any licence or share transfer | Equity or development funding over several years | Licence history, production records, environmental guarantee, ownership chain to 50% | Production claims that the site cannot support; untraceable past sales; licence in breach |
| 4. Exploration licence | RMB exploration licence, 4 years, renewable once | Exploration budget at risk; impact assessment | Work programme, technical team, funding source | 90-day start rule; no proven gold deposit of scale yet |
| 5. Gold trading licence | RMB mineral trading licence; ICGLR certificates; AML reporting person | Purchase capital; vault and transport | Supplier register, lot-by-lot origin, refiner identity, AML programme, screening logs | Banks declining the account; buyers refusing Great Lakes gold; sanctions hits |
Sources: Law N° 072/2024 (Stabit Advocates, 02/06/2026); Chambers Mining 2026: Rwanda (27/01/2026); Law N° 028/2023, Art. 7. Bank file items reflect what Rwandan and European banks typically request; each bank sets its own list.
And refining
We do not rank refining as a route for a newcomer. It needs an RMB processing licence, a site, capital for equipment and security, and above all a due diligence system that international buyers would accept, in a market where the only operating refinery is under EU and US sanctions and the previous one lost its export licence. A refinery that wants to sell beyond the UAE also needs a path to LBMA-level standards, which no African refiner other than Rand Refinery has reached. That is a project for an established refiner with its own track record, not a first step in Rwanda.
Structure for each route
Every route runs through a Rwandan isosiyete (company) with at least one resident director. Routes 1 and 2 can start as a private company with ordinary registrations. Routes 3 to 5 usually justify an icyemezo cy'ishoramari (investment certificate) from RDB for incentives and investor permits in the A1 mining class. Profits leave Rwanda with 15% withholding tax unless one of the 13 treaties in force applies; the UAE treaty sets 7.5% on dividends, which matters because so much of the trade already runs through Dubai. Our page on a UAE holding over a Rwandan company sets out that route.
The strongest first year in gold we can describe is a services company with two or three licensed mine clients, a clean screening record and a bank that knows it. From there, a joint venture with one of those clients is a known risk. Starting with a trading licence and no history is the file banks most often decline.
Self-check
Which gold route fits you
Five questions we ask in a first review. The result is a starting point, not advice.
Geography
Gold on the map of Rwanda
Gold is mined in the hills of the north and west; it is traded, refined and financed in Kigali.
Geography explains the trade. The western districts sit on Lake Kivu and the Rusizi river, across from South Kivu, where the US alleges the gold moved to Gasabo originated. Mines are administered down to the umurenge (sector) and akagari (cell), and in each akarere (district) a mining task force with RMB follows illegal workings. Everything that leaves the country is certified, taxed and paid for in Kigali, in the Umujyi wa Kigali (City of Kigali).
Sources: USGS Minerals Yearbook, Rwanda 2019; KT Press (28/11/2025); The New Times (19/06/2019); OpenSanctions record for Gasabo Gold Refinery Ltd (Kigali); EastAfrican via Zawya (March 2025), for the UAE as main destination; US Treasury SB0543 (25/06/2026); Chambers Mining 2026 (district task forces). Provinces, districts and borders are well established.
Law
The rules this article relies on
Sources: Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda; RRA (2024); Stabit Advocates (02/06/2026); RegAlert (Law N° 028/2023); ENSafrica (13/10/2025); Afriwise (2025); IEA policy database; EUR-Lex; US Treasury (25/06/2026); Sidley Austin (19/04/2023); Lexis Middle East (14/09/2022); OECD.
Terms
Words you will meet
Questions
What foreign companies ask about gold in Rwanda
How much gold does Rwanda actually mine?
There is no recent official figure that we could verify. The US Geological Survey last estimated about 2.9 tonnes a year in 2018 and 2019. Exports are much larger, reaching USD 1.5 billion in 2024, because regional gold is traded and refined in Kigali.
Can I buy gold from Gasabo Gold Refinery?
Not if you are a US person, a company in the EU, or anyone who needs a US or EU bank, buyer or insurer. Gasabo is on the EU list since 17/03/2025 and the US SDN list since 25/06/2026. We do not act on transactions involving it.
Is there an LBMA-accredited refinery in Rwanda?
No. LBMA described Gasabo in March 2025 as Rwanda's only gold refinery, and in July 2026 Rand Refinery in South Africa was reported as the only African refiner with LBMA accreditation.
What tax does gold pay in Rwanda?
A 0.5% royalty on the norm value, and a 0.5% export tax if exported unprocessed, under Law N° 056/2024. Corporate income tax is 28%, or 15% for a registered investor exporting at least half its turnover as minerals processed in Rwanda.
Can a foreign-owned company get a gold trading licence?
Yes, through a company registered in Rwanda, from RMB. It then becomes a reporting person under the money laundering law and needs a full due diligence system. In practice the bank account is harder to obtain than the licence.
Can I pay artisanal miners in cash?
Rwandan law requires domestic payments in francs, and the money laundering law makes gold dealers reporting persons. LBMA guidance removes cash from refiners' supply chains except approved artisanal sourcing. A cash-based gold business will not keep a bank account in our experience.
Does the Washington agreement make gold trade easier?
Its economic framework commits both countries to traceability and to a trade free of illicit flows. It contains no gold-specific provision in the published fact sheet. It raises the standard of proof rather than lowering it.
Is the UAE treaty useful for a gold business?
For dividends, yes: the Rwanda–UAE treaty sets 7.5% instead of 15%. It does not change the due diligence that UAE refiners must apply under their own Ministry of Economy regulations.
Will Voixa help with a gold trading company?
We help with structure, registration, tax and the documentary file, through licensed partners in Kigali, where origin can be documented and no designated party is involved. Where it cannot, we say so in writing and decline.
Next step
A written view before any gold moves
A gold project in Rwanda is decided by its structure and its evidence before its price. Our structure review sets out in writing which route fits your plan, which company holds which licence, what the bank and buyer will ask for and where we see a reason not to proceed. When the plan is sound, we register the Rwandan company through company registration and build the file with our licensed partners in Kigali. The general mining framework is in our article on mining and minerals in Rwanda.
Our fees are fixed and quoted in writing; the pricing page explains how we scope a sector engagement. To start, describe your activity, your counterparties and where the gold will be sold through the contact page, and we reply with a first written view.
Structure review
A paid, written recommendation on route, licences, tax and screening.
Read more → IsosiyeteCompany registration
The Rwandan company behind every route, end to end.
Read more → Amabuye y'agaciroMining and minerals in Rwanda
The law, licences, taxes and traceability for every mineral.
Read more → AmafarangaHow we price
Fixed fees, quoted in writing, for structure, filing and annual work.
See pricing → Murakaza nezaSend us your plan
Activity, counterparties and buyers. We reply in writing.
Contact us → AmasezeranoA UAE holding over Rwanda
The 7.5% treaty route for groups already in Dubai.
Read more →Prefer us to handle it
Structure review: a written recommendation first
One adviser, fixed prices from USD 1,500, filings through licensed partners in Kigali.