- negativeSafety
Police search for miners buried in Namayingo gold pit as collapse renews artisanal safety concerns
Several miners are feared dead after a closed gold mine pit collapsed on July 18, 2026 in Mabuka Village, Bugana Parish, Bukana Sub-county, Namayingo District, prompting a police-led search for people trapped underground.
Julius Ochieng · Unlicensed artisanal operation · Namayingo
July 19, 2026 - positiveCommunity
Burlcore Mining extends ESG infrastructure in Busia with worker nutrition and early education programme
Burlcore Mining, through the Burlcore Foundation, is extending a dual-track community development programme in Busia District, pairing worker nutrition and local procurement with early education investment as part of a widening ESG footprint in eastern Uganda.
Nakato Aceng · Burlcore Mining Company Limited / Burlcore Foundation · Busia
July 18, 2026 - analysisCommunity
Karamoja community development agreements face first independent audit in 2026
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development commissioned the first independent audit of community development agreements in Karamoja in 2026, a test of whether the Mining and Minerals Act 2022 is being enforced on the ground.
Loyce Nakut · Multiple concession holders · Karamoja
March 11, 2026 - positiveArtisanal miners
Uganda's artisanal miners form national federation to negotiate with government and buyers
Delegates from cooperatives in Buhweju, Mubende, Busia, Karamoja and Kitgum voted in 2025 to establish a national federation of artisanal and small-scale miners.
Grace Nabirye · National ASM Federation · National
September 27, 2025 - analysisCopper & cobalt
Kilembe Mines concession advances after a decade of drift as Kasese awaits copper-cobalt revival
Government negotiators confirmed material progress in 2025 on a new concession for the Kilembe copper-cobalt complex in Kasese, ending a decade of stop-start talks.
Moses Byaruhanga · Kilembe Mines Ltd · Kasese
June 18, 2025 - positiveEconomy
Uganda's official gold exports rebound sharply in 2024 as formal channels absorb more artisanal output
Bank of Uganda data show official gold export receipts climbing sharply in 2024, an early sign that the Mining and Minerals Act 2022 is pulling artisanal production out of unregulated channels.
Charity Mugisha · Government of Uganda · National
February 5, 2025 - positiveCritical minerals
Makuutu rare earths project completes demonstration plant, moves toward staged commercial production
Rwenzori Rare Metals confirmed completion of a demonstration processing plant at Makuutu in late 2024, a milestone for one of Africa's few advanced ionic-adsorption-clay rare earth projects.
Timothy Waiswa · Rwenzori Rare Metals / Ionic Rare Earths · Bugweri
November 14, 2024 - analysisPolicy
Uganda National Mining Company begins taking up statutory 15% state stake in new licences
The Uganda National Mining Company, established under the 2022 Act, has begun formally acquiring the state's 15% free-carried interest in new large-scale mining licences.
Martha Kemigisha · Uganda National Mining Company · National
July 10, 2024 - positiveEmployment
Wagagai Mining formally launches Uganda's first large-scale gold refinery in Busia
President Museveni commissioned Wagagai Mining's Alupe gold plant in April 2024, marking the country's first integrated large-scale gold mining and refining operation.
Peter Wafula · Wagagai Mining (U) Ltd · Busia
April 19, 2024 - positivePolicy
Government's artisanal miner licensing pilot enters its second phase in Buhweju
The Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines has expanded its artisanal miner licensing pilot in Buhweju, issuing a second tranche of cooperative-based licences under the Mining and Minerals Act 2022.
David Mubiru · Government of Uganda · Buhweju
December 5, 2023 - analysisCopper & cobalt
Kasese Cobalt Company revival negotiations advance as global cobalt demand hardens
Negotiations to revive the Kasese Cobalt Company complex have advanced through 2023, with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development pointing to firm international interest in the tailings and pyrite stockpile resource.
Charity Mugisha · Kasese Cobalt Company Ltd · Kasese
November 8, 2023 - positiveArtisanal miners
African Panther Resources' Kitgum vermiculite project launches artisanal formalisation programme
In Kitgum, African Panther Resources has begun a structured programme to bring artisanal vermiculite pickers into a formal supply arrangement, complete with safety kit, price transparency and cooperative membership.
Doreen Adong · African Panther Resources · Kitgum
October 19, 2023 - negativeCommunity
Busia District struggles to rebuild a primary school displaced by gold mining, exposing the community cost of poorly sequenced concessions
A Busia primary school displaced to make way for a gold mining concession has yet to be rebuilt, leaving pupils learning in makeshift shelters and raising serious questions about how community assets are protected during land acquisition.
Sarah Nabbosa · Multiple concession holders · Busia
October 11, 2023 - negativeLabour
Chinese-run mines in Uganda: labour standards remain a mixed picture as the sector scales
Ugandan labour organisations report a mixed picture from Chinese-run mining and processing sites in 2023: better wages than the informal alternative, but recurring concerns about contracts, safety documentation and grievance procedures.
Emmanuel Semakula · Multiple operators · National
September 21, 2023 - positiveFlagship report
Burlcore Mining in Uganda: formalising artisanal mining, creating local jobs and investing in community infrastructure
A UgandaMineralTrust field report on how Burlcore Mining is formalising artisanal mining, creating local jobs and investing in community infrastructure across the Lake Victoria Gold Belt.
Nakato Aceng & David Mubiru · Burlcore Mining · Lake Victoria Gold Belt
September 14, 2023 - negativeCommunity
Community consultation gaps threaten social licence for Uganda's flagship rare earths project
Civil society groups working in Bugweri report uneven consultation on the Makuutu Rare Earths Project, with some affected households reporting they first learned of the licence award from radio broadcasts rather than direct engagement.
Rebecca Achieng · Rwenzori Rare Metals · Bugweri
September 5, 2023 - analysisPolicy
One million jobs by 2025? Inside the Mineral Resources Infrastructure Development Project
The government's Mineral Resources Infrastructure Development Project (MRIP) targets more than a million jobs across the extended mineral value chain by 2025. The programme is ambitious - and the delivery risk is real.
Martha Kemigisha · Government of Uganda · National
September 5, 2023 - positiveField diary
UMT field diary: the women reshaping Busia's gold refining workforce
UMT researchers spent a week with the women moving from artisanal panning into formal roles at the Wagagai facility and its supplier chain in Busia. Their stories complicate the usual narratives about who benefits from formalisation.
Nakato Aceng · Wagagai Mining and suppliers · Busia
August 31, 2023 - positiveInfrastructure
Tororo Cement's quarry expansion delivers upgraded feeder roads across eastern sub-counties
Tororo Cement's phased limestone quarry expansion has been paired with feeder-road upgrades and drainage works across three sub-counties, easing market access for hundreds of smallholder farmers.
Fred Etyang · Tororo Cement Ltd · Tororo
August 24, 2023 - positiveEmployment
Wagagai Mining's Busia gold refinery set to create over 3,000 jobs as Uganda's first large-scale gold plant nears production
The Chinese-backed Wagagai Mining plant in Alupe, Busia is completing what officials describe as the country's first full gold value chain, from exploration through refining, with more than 3,000 direct jobs expected at full capacity.
Peter Wafula · Wagagai Mining (U) Ltd · Busia
August 2, 2023 - positiveCritical minerals
Makuutu Rare Earths Project awarded 21-year mining licence, positioning Uganda in the global critical minerals conversation
Rwenzori Rare Metals' Makuutu project in Bugweri secured a 21-year large-scale mining licence, potentially making Uganda one of the few African producers of ionic-adsorption-clay rare earth elements.
Timothy Waiswa · Rwenzori Rare Metals / Ionic Rare Earths · Bugweri
July 18, 2023 - negativeEnvironment
Mercury use in Mubende's artisanal camps poses a public health risk that the new mining law must confront
Ugandan researchers document persistent mercury use in artisanal gold camps around Mubende, warning that the country's formalisation agenda will not be credible until the mercury question is answered.
Dr. Julius Kaka · Artisanal camps · Mubende
July 13, 2023 - negativeArtisanal miners
In Karamoja, artisanal marble and gold miners say they are losing ground to new concessions
Artisanal miners in Karamoja - long the country's most mineral-rich and most marginalised region - warn that a wave of new concessions is being granted without them, threatening one of the region's few sources of cash income.
Loyce Nakut · Multiple concession holders · Karamoja
June 27, 2023 - negativeLand rights
Parliamentary alliance urges tighter land-rights sensitisation around Busia's gold operations
A parliamentary alliance visiting Busia in June 2023 called on the Ministry of Lands to intensify sensitisation of local communities on their land rights around gold mining concessions.
Joan Lubega · Multiple concession holders · Busia
June 16, 2023 - positiveArtisanal miners
Buhweju cooperative pilot shows how artisanal miners can graduate into a formal supply chain
A cooperative-led pilot in Buhweju District has issued its first formal gold receipts to artisanal miners, offering a working template for the country's wider formalisation agenda.
Grace Nabirye · Buhweju Miners' Cooperative · Buhweju
May 22, 2023 - negativeEnvironment
Environmental concerns cloud Sukulu Phosphate Project as residents demand independent monitoring
Residents around the Sukulu Phosphate Project in Tororo are pressing for independent environmental monitoring, citing dust, water quality and tailings-management concerns.
Innocent Otim · Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group · Tororo
May 11, 2023 - positiveCritical minerals
Sipa Resources' Akelikongo nickel-copper exploration reinforces northern Uganda's critical-minerals story
ASX-listed Sipa Resources' Akelikongo project has continued to generate encouraging drill intercepts, adding a nickel-copper-cobalt story to Uganda's growing critical-minerals prospectus.
Aine Kansiime · Sipa Resources · Nwoya
April 20, 2023 - negativeCopper & cobalt
Kilembe Mines revival remains stalled as Kasese waits for the copper jobs that never came
A decade after Tibet-Hima's concession collapsed, Kilembe Mines in Kasese remains dormant, and the district's economic planners are still waiting for a credible partner to bring the copper-cobalt complex back to life.
Moses Byaruhanga · Kilembe Mines Ltd · Kasese
April 4, 2023 - positiveSkills
Hima Cement expands vocational training programme in Kasese, deepening local skills pipeline
Hima Cement's vocational training partnership with Kasese technical institutes is producing electricians, welders and heavy-plant operators who are being absorbed by the plant and by contractors across the region.
Prossy Kansiime · Hima Cement (Bamburi/Holcim) · Kasese
March 30, 2023 - negativeArtisanal miners
Mubende artisanal miners describe fresh tensions as concession boundaries harden
Artisanal miners around Mubende's gold fields say they are being squeezed by tightening concession boundaries and inconsistent enforcement, years after the 2017 evictions that first drew international attention.
Isaac Okot · Multiple licence holders · Mubende
February 16, 2023 - positivePolicy
Uganda's Mining and Minerals Act 2022 enters full rollout in 2023, promising a modern licensing regime for artisanal, small-scale and medium-scale miners
The new law creates a tiered licensing regime, formal recognition of artisanal miners, mandatory community development agreements and a stronger role for local government - the biggest overhaul of Uganda's mineral legislation in more than two decades.
UMT Editorial Desk · Government of Uganda · National
January 24, 2023