Almonty Industries has signed a binding agreement with the Government of Rwanda to establish a tungsten venture, giving Kigali a 25% equity stake in a project designed to expand the country’s production and processing of the critical mineral. As reported by Reuters, Almonty will hold the remaining 75% of Almonty Rwanda, with the Rwandan government contributing the Shyorongi tungsten exploration concession and a mineral processing licence in exchange for its stake. The partnership follows an introduction by the US Department of State under the 2025 US Rwanda Framework for Shared Economic Prosperity, placing the deal within Washington’s wider effort to strengthen critical mineral supply chains.
The venture will initially collect and process tungsten ore, pre concentrate and panning tailings produced by existing small scale mining operators in Rwanda, while Almonty develops mobile processing capacity and conducts exploration. The Shyorongi concession covers approximately 32 square kilometres, according to Business Insider Africa, and the partnership will combine Rwanda’s existing mining base with Almonty’s processing and exploration capabilities. Almonty said the venture is intended to modernise and expand Rwanda’s tungsten sector, while creating a more traceable supply chain for international markets.
The strategic importance of the agreement lies in tungsten’s growing role as a critical industrial and defence material and the concentration of global supply in China. Tungsten is used in applications ranging from defence equipment and aerospace components to industrial tools and advanced technology, while China accounts for roughly 80% of global production, according to the US Geological Survey data cited by Wall Street Journal. The US and its allies are therefore seeking alternative sources as geopolitical tensions and tighter Chinese export controls increase supply chain risks. Almonty is already developing tungsten assets across South Korea, Portugal, Spain and the United States, positioning the company as part of the broader Western effort to establish alternative supply networks.
For Rwanda, the partnership could provide an opportunity to move further up the mineral value chain by increasing local processing rather than relying primarily on raw mineral exports, while the US backed framework could attract additional capital and technology into the country’s mining sector. For Almonty and Western markets, Rwanda offers an established tungsten producing base that can be expanded and integrated into a broader supply chain. The immediate issues for investors will be the pace of exploration, processing development and additional financing, while governments will be watching whether the model can translate into greater local value creation and more secure access to a mineral increasingly viewed as strategically important to defence, manufacturing and advanced technology.
