Africa-Press – Rwanda. President Paul Kagame, on July 18, received a delegation from Rio Tinto Group to discuss updates regarding the mining company’s joint venture with the government and ongoing areas of collaboration in the mining sector.
The delegation was led by Mark Davies, Chief Technical Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee.
Rwanda entered into a strategic partnership with the multinational company, which is one of the leading mineral exploration and development firms, in 2024 with a focus on the early stages of the exploration and mining of lithium and other associated mineral deposits in the country.
President Kagame meets the delegation from University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), who included Dr. Jim Kim, the UGHE Chancellor, Prof. Phil Cotton, UGHE Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. Joe Rhatigan, Chair of the UGHE Board.
Following the discovery of high-grade lithium in Southern Province, Rio Tinto Ltd announced on July 10 that it will exercise its Stage 1 earn-in rights under the HCK joint venture agreement, allowing it to own a 51 per cent interest in the HCK license.
This means that its interest in the license will increase to 75 per cent upon investing $7.5 million over a period of three years, as indicated in the agreement.
HCK Project is a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Aterian PLC, a UK-based critical minerals exploration company.
The high-grade lithium was found after drilling exercises where one drill hole in particular, known as MWOG0002, reached a depth of 174.6 meters and uncovered a 6.9-meter section of lithium-bearing rock grading 2.11 per cent lithium, containing a higher-grade interval of 3.45 metres at 3.20 per cent lithium.
Drilling was conducted on only two of the twelve defined prospect areas by Rio Tinto.
The joint venture agreement signed in 2023 allowed for the exploration and development of lithium and by-products, through a project that boasts 19 identified pegmatite zones for lithium, cesium, and tantalum on 2,750 hectares of land in Southern Province.
UGHE’s role in education
On the other hand, President Kagame also met with Dr. Jim Kim, Chancellor of the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), Prof. Phil Cotton, UGHE Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. Joe Rhatigan, Chair of the UGHE Board.
According to Village Urugwiro, they discussed ongoing partnerships between the government and UGHE, particularly in making Rwanda a hub for health education, research, and systems innovation.
UGHE is a Partners In Health initiative based in Rwanda that seeks to change the way healthcare is delivered across the globe by training the next generation of healthcare workers to deliver equitable, quality care for all, with a focus on the most vulnerable.
It is among the top higher education institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.
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