ABOUT UGANDA MINERAL'S SECTOR
MEET 1500 ATTENDEES LEADING AND INNOVATING UGANDA’S MINING SECTOR.
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About Uganda’s Mining Sector
Uganda is rich in a wide range of minerals which provide an opportunity to develop a strong mining industry. Preliminary geological surveys indicate the presence of mineral rich tectonic domains within the continental crust, richly endowed with an assortment of minerals with potential for commercial exploitation for over 20 categories of minerals.
To enhance the prospects and de-risk the minerals sector, Uganda has over time completed the acquisition and processing of high-resolution aerial magnetic data for the entire country. This exercise revealed high target areas with anomalies for different minerals, with the potential for world-class discoveries. Already commercial deposits of Rare Earth Elements, graphite, Iron Ore, and Gold, among others have been discovered in different parts of Uganda. This is in addition to the new potential targets for Uranium, 3Ts, Nickel, lithium, gold, bentonite, and other clays that were picked up during the aerial survey.
Furthermore, the 3rd National Development Plan (NDPIII) running from 2020/21 – 2024/25 prioritized the development of five (5) categories of minerals, namely; Iron ore, Gold, Copper, Phosphates, and Development Minerals (marble, silica sand, aggregate, and limestone) given the advancement of efforts to ascertain their commercial viability and data availability on the same. Accordingly, there will be continued studies to quantify all the other minerals whose occurrences are known fully.
It is projected that the mining sector will be a major driver of employment and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Uganda over the next several years. Therefore, the Government, through the NDPIII, has set specific fundamentals like, infrastructure development, human capital development, and good governance, among others to pursue these two objectives and foster possibilities for full value chain development.
To create optimum value and in-country retention of the same, Uganda recently concluded a legal framework review creating a new law, (the Mining and Minerals Act 2022) that introduced new provisions for licensing, state participation and value addition, among others.
Some of the new provisions ultimately have implications on investment attraction and feasibility of mine development and therefore need continued engagements between the government and investors.
Globally, the minerals and metals industry has continued to attract unprecedented investment driven largely by the growing demand for minerals for the energy transition technologies. It is therefore an opportune time for Uganda and the East African region as a whole to position to attract some of the global investment especially to be able to explore and quantify the mineral reserves to meaningful contribute to the development goals as articulated in NDPIII
It is also important to note that for the metals and mining industry, one of the primary concerns that continue to dominate decision making arise from challenges from ESG (environmental, social,governance) initiatives together with climate change and geopolitical shifts.
Recently, there have been some geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world resulting in disruptions in the global economy and creating shortages in supply of of certain metals. This requires an adaptation to the new dynamics but also creates an opportunity for investment in new frontiers.
The other concern for the industry is the increased requirement for transparency and reporting in line with ESG considerations, carbon footprint and EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) provisions.
All these new dynamics present both a challenge and an opportunity for the industry. Hence, for the sector to contribute significantly and benefit from the global hunger for minerals, key considerations have to be made and key questions must be answered;
- What are the major drivers for the mining and Metals industry investment decisions today?
- What are the major risks and what is the industry approach to addressing these today?
- What is the implication of the drive to net zero on exploration and mining operations?
- With the completion of aerial survey for Karamoja, the geological map for Uganda is complete; what are the emerging investment opportunities?
- How can the legal and regulatory framework as well as the human and institutional capacity be strengthened to support mineral development?
- What measures and future plans has the country put in place to increase investment in mining and value addition?
- Are the existing reserves sufficient to guarantee full value addition in-country?
- Is full mineral value chain development attainable at Country or regional level?
- How can Uganda’s and ultimately the East African Community’s mineral sector potential be optimally positioned to play a role in the energy transition?
- How feasible is it to increase adoption and use of appropriate and affordable technology along the mining value chain?
- What are the transparency reporting requirements and how do they impact operations in today’s world?