20100913
reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Rwanda plans to introduce a scheme to help buyers certify the origin and supply chain of tin and other ores to ensure they were not from conflict zones, a mining official said on Monday.

Rwanda said it would cooperate with ITRI, a global tin authority, in a scheme that it hopes will mitigate the impact of the United States' "conflict minerals" bill, which some in the industry called a de facto embargo.

The legislation passed by the U.S. Senate in July requires companies to prove materials extracted from Democratic Republic of Congo and its nine neighbours, including Rwanda, are not linked to conflict.

"It's giving confidence to our buyers to make sure the minerals they are buying are really from Rwanda," Michael Biryabarema, director of the Rwandan Geology and Mines Authority told Reuters by telephone.

"It's voluntary but in the end every company will want to do it because everybody wants to sell their property."

Rwanda is an important conduit for Congo's tin, tantalum and tungsten trade. Rwanda re-exported material worth $11 million in 2009, according to central bank data.

Much of Congo's minerals, including the gold, tin and tantalum that end up in jewellery, laptops and cell phones, come from its troubled east which borders Rwanda, where fighting has displaced more than 1.45 million people.

Campaign groups argue illegal taxation of minerals passing through militarised areas fuel the conflict.