Uganda has announced the discovery of a 31 million-tonne gold ore deposit, with extractable pure gold estimated to total 320,000 tonnes.
President Museveni announced the discovery in his State-of-the-Nation Address yesterday, but provided little detail, pointing out that the gemstones would fetch the country more than $12 trillion.
Mr Museveni noted that technocrats in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development had informed Cabinet that the country was on track to receive slightly less than $700 million in royalty payments, with investors eager to cash in on the windfall.
The President declared that the time for Uganda to ship unprocessed exports is over, citing six local gold refineries, including the Africa Gold Refinery in Entebbe, which the US sanctioned in March over the illicit source of its gold.
According to Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development spokesperson Solomon Muyita, the gold-rich areas of Uganda include Alupe in Busia and Karamoja in eastern Uganda; Kameleng, Kisita, and Ngugo in Kassanda District in central Uganda; and Bushenyi’s Tiira area in western Uganda.
According to a document prepared by the line ministry, the reserves are estimated to be 31 million tonnes of gold ore, or net 320,158 tonnes of gold, valued at $12.8 trillion.
If the calculations are correct, the new gold discovery would outweigh the estimated windfall from oil still in the ground in the Albertine region.
Mr Muyita stated that a Chinese-owned company, Wagagai, named after Mt Elgon’s highest peak, expects to mine and refine at least 5,000 kilograms of gold per day in Busia by the end of this year.
Approximately 2,000 artisanal miners work in the district, with thousands more earning a living in Karamoja and Kassanda through rudimentary extraction of the minerals.
There were no readily available figures on how many new jobs will be created as a result of the massive gold discovery.
It was unclear what the immediate and long-term impact of the expected gold windfall would be on the economy, where billions of dollars are expected to flow once the country begins extracting oil, which is expected to happen in 2025.
According to official records, Uganda’s gold exports have increased since the opening of the Africa Gold Refinery in Entebbe.
