Effect of project risk management strategies on environmental sustainability in Rwanda’s mining sector: A case study of the Bashyamba mining and mineral processing project at GAMICO Ltd.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of project risk management strategies on environmental sustainability in Rwanda’s mining sector, using the Bashyamba Mining and Mineral Processing Project at GAMICO Ltd as a case study. The study was motivated by persistent environmental challenges associated with mining, including land degradation, water pollution, waste generation, biodiversity loss, and the continuing need to translate environmental requirements into effective project-level practice. This study was primarily underpinned by Risk Management Theory, which provides the central theoretical explanation for how systematic identification, assessment, response, and monitoring of project risks can influence project outcomes. The study was further informed by Contingency Theory, Sustainable Development Theory, and Systems Theory, which provide complementary explanations of how project conditions, sustainability objectives, and interactions among organizational and environmental systems shape environmental performance.A quantitative approach was adopted using descriptive and explanatory research designs. The target population comprised 88 permanent staff directly involved in project planning, implementation, environmental management, compliance, engineering and maintenance, mining supervision, risk management, and mineral resources management. Because the population was small and manageable, a census sampling technique was used and all 88 eligible staff were included. Primary data were collected through a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire, supplemented by key informant interviews, while secondary information was obtained through environmental and compliance documentation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. All 88 questionnaires were returned, giving a 100% response rate. The results showed positive and statistically significant correlations between environmental sustainability and risk identification (r = 0.502, p < 0.001), risk assessment (r = 0.599, p < 0.001), risk response (r = 0.542, p < 0.001), and risk monitoring and control (r = 0.748, p < 0.001). The overall regression model was statistically significant, F(4,83) = 29.957, p < 0.001, and explained 59.1% of the observed variation in environmental sustainability (R² = 0.591; adjusted R² = 0.571). When the four predictors were considered simultaneously, only risk monitoring and control made a statistically significant unique contribution (β = 0.572, p < 0.001). The study concludes that project risk management is meaningfully associated with environmental sustainability, with continuous monitoring and control emerging as the strongest unique predictor in the study setting. It recommends that mining project managers strengthen continuous environmental monitoring, audits, compliance inspections, incident reporting, and timely corrective action, while linking risk registers and assessment outputs to ongoing project control systems.