The United States has established a new supply of tin, which it hasn’t mined in more than three decades, after Rwanda’s Trinity Metals agreed to export its mined products.
Trinity signed a letter of intent this week establishing a partnership with Pennsylvania-based Nathan Trotter, North America’s largest tin alloys manufacturer. The signing was witnessed by a U.S. State Department official in its Bureau of Energy Resources.
“This type of critical minerals project supports U.S. onshoring, strengthens our national security and advances economic prosperity,” the bureau said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Acting PDAS Kim Harrington witnessed the signing of a letter of intent between @Trinity_Metals and Nathan Trotter at the Department of State to establish a new supply chain of tin from Rwanda to the United States. This type of #criticalminerals project supports U.S. onshoring,… pic.twitter.com/plwEsqeXLD
— EnergyAtState (@EnergyAtState) May 13, 2025
The move comes as Rwanda seeks to diversify its mineral exports and strengthen trade relations with the U.S. Last year, the central African nation exported an estimated 4,861 tonnes of cassiterite (tin ore).
Tin hasn’t been mined in America since 1989. The country last year imported $903 million worth of the metal commonly used in plating steel, mostly from South America, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database.
Trinity Metals operates the Rutongo and Musha tin mines in Rwanda, which together produce between 60 and 90 tonnes of the silver-colored metal per month, according to the company’s website.
Key visits
The agreement with Nathan Trotter follows several recent visits by high-level U.S. delegations to Rwanda amid growing interest in the region’s natural resources.
The African nation first hosted U.S. Congressman Ronnie Jackson and his delegation in late March. This was followed by a visit from Massad Boulos, U.S. Senior Advisor for Africa, alongside Corina Sanders, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, a few weeks later.
According to Trinity, both delegations visited its Nyakabingo operation, home to the largest tungsten mine in Africa and the sixth-largest producer globally.
In April, Rwandan President Paul Kagame held discussions with Trinity Chairman Shawn McCormick on investment opportunities available in the country’s mining sector.
US grant
Trinity, which was formed in 2022 by merging the three mines’ owners with equity backing from British investment firm Techmet, positions itself as an ethical, eco-friendly supplier of critical minerals.
Last year, the company received a $3.8 million technical assistance grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support environmental and social governance initiatives across its operations.
“As Rwanda’s largest producer of conflict-free and child-labour-free critical minerals, it is a distinct honour to be recognized by the U.S. DFC with this technical assistance grant,” McCormick stated in a July 2024 news release.
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