KAMPALA, Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Uganda has inaugurated its first large-scale gold mine, a $250 million Chinese-owned project in the country’s east that will also refine the bullion to 99.9% purity, according to a statement from the president’s office.
The landlocked east African country, which has a variety of minerals including copper, cobalt and iron ore, wants to expand its mining industry and position itself as a major gold producer and exporter.
Last year Uganda raised $3.4 billion from gold exports, according to central bank data, about 37% of the country’s total export revenue.
The figure includes the re-export of gold brought into the country, with nearly all its domestic production from small-scale artisanal miners.
While its gold export earnings have increased in recent years, it is still far behind Africa’s largest bullion producer Ghana, which raised $11.6 billion from shipments of the metal last year.
“In order to wake up in the minerals sector, we must have full value addition for all minerals like gold, lithium, tin among others,” President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement. — NNN-AGENCIES
