Grace Nabirye
Grace Nabirye follows Uganda's mining co-operatives and the policy instruments that support them, including licensing windows for small-scale groups and access to formal buyers.
Based in Kampala, Uganda
- Mining co-operatives
- Small-scale licensing
- Market access
Reporting by Grace Nabirye
- Formalisation · August 17, 2026
New buying centres test gold price fairness
Formal mineral buying centres are opening in gold districts so diggers can weigh and sell on record. Early signs are decent, but the middlemen have not gone anywhere.
- Formalisation · August 15, 2026
Tin and tungsten cooperatives find footing
So, in the south western hills, licensed cooperatives are sorting and selling tin and tungsten together instead of one by one. Prices improved, but transport still swallows much of the gain.
- Artisanal miners · May 30, 2026
More ASM associations register, costs still bite
The 2022 Act created a formal artisanal category. Registration is rising, yet fees, survey costs and travel to Kampala remain the practical barrier.
- Community · April 28, 2026
Women's cooperatives move up the mining chain
Groups in Mubende and Busia are taking on processing, assaying and sales roles that were closed to them a decade ago. Access to finance remains the ceiling.
- Artisanal miners · November 8, 2025
Mubende women's gold cooperative wins first licence
A 42-member women's cooperative in Mubende has become one of the first female-led artisanal groups to secure a location licence under the Mining and Minerals Act 2022, signalling a shift in who benefits from formalisation.
- Artisanal miners · September 27, 2025
Artisanal miners form national federation
Like that, delegates from cooperatives in Buhweju, Mubende, Busia, Karamoja and Kitgum voted in 2025 to establish a national federation of artisanal and small-scale miners.
- Policy · December 5, 2023
Artisanal miner licensing pilot expands
So, 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.
- Artisanal miners · May 22, 2023
Buhweju artisanal cooperative pilot delivers
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.