The Makuutu Rare Earths Project, operated by Rwenzori Rare Metals and majority-owned by ASX-listed Ionic Rare Earths, has been granted a 21-year large-scale mining licence covering the ionic-adsorption-clay deposit in Bugweri District. Uganda joins a very small group of African jurisdictions positioned to supply the magnet-rare-earth elements that underpin electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence systems.
01What the licence covers
The licence was processed under the Mining and Minerals Act 2022 and is recorded on the DGSM mineral cadastre, which sets out the boundaries, term and reporting obligations attached to the grant. Government officials say the length of the term, 21 years, reflects the scale of capital required to bring an ionic clay deposit into staged commercial production.
The project's design emphasises a comparatively low-impact leach process rather than hard-rock extraction, and the company has published local employment and procurement targets. Government officials have highlighted Makuutu as evidence that Uganda can attract patient capital into a technically demanding sub-sector.
02What it means locally
Truth be told, for the surrounding communities in Bugweri, the licence award is the beginning of a longer conversation about how a 21-year operation coexists with agricultural land use, water sources and household livelihoods. The Mining and Minerals Act 2022 requires a community development agreement to be negotiated with affected sub-counties as part of large-scale licensing.
District officials say early consultations have focused on compensation frameworks for gardens overlying the clay horizon and on the sequencing of construction relative to the planting season.
03What to watch
UMT will track community development agreement negotiations closely, along with the pace at which the company converts stated local employment and procurement targets into signed contracts during the construction phase. We shall keep following this one.
How we verified this: licence and production details are checked against official records and ministry statements where they exist. Corrections are welcome through our contact page.
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