How to get Mining Business Opportunities in Uganda

by Suresh

Question:
What kind of Mining Opportunities are available in Uganda
How long does it take for a company to register for mining activities? Why there are not many companies involved in the mining activities though Uganda has lot of rich mineral resource.

Answer:
Uganda lies within the African Plate which is a continental crust. Precambrian rocks ranging from Achaean, Lower Proterozoic to Middle Proterozoic (4500 - 600 Million Years) dominate the geology. Close to the eastern border with Kenya, lies a number of Cretaceous to Miocene (145.5 - 5.3 Million Years) intrusive alkaline carbonatite complexes. The Rift Valley contains Cenozoic (65 - 0.01 Million Years) to Recent sediments up to 4000 metres thick. These rocks are endowed with a wide variety of minerals as evidenced by past mining records and the numerous mineral occurrences in many parts of the country.

The mining industry in Uganda reached peak levels in the 1950’s and 1960’s when the sector accounted for up to 30% of Uganda’s export earnings. However, political and economic instability experienced in the country in the 1970’s and the recent global economic slowdown led the sector to decline drastically. Currently, the energy sector’s contribution to total GDP, at current prices, was the lowest in (Financial Year) FY2009/2010 with a share of only 0.3 percent. It should be noted therefore that the decline is not a result of resource depletion but rather due to the bad governance at one time but recently due to poor world prices of cobalt and copper, among others.

The period after 1986 has been marked by a favorable business climate in Uganda and many mining companies have taken up licenses in the mining sector. Over the last ten years the sector has been growing positively with growth rates peaking 19.4% in FY 2006/07. In FY 2009/2010, the sector grew by 12.8%. In terms of licenses taken, in 1999 there were 66 licenses issued in the exploration and mining license categories combined; by the beginning of 2010 there was a total of 517 licenses issued.

Metals: Beryl, Chromium (chromite), Copper-Cobalt, Gold, Iron Ore, Lead, Lithium, Niobium-Tantalum (columbite-tantalite), Tin (cassiterite), Titanium (ilmenite/rutile),Tungsten (wolframite/scheelite), Silver, Zinc, Platinum, palladium and rhodium
Nickel, Managanese,

Non Metals: Oil, Talc, Mica, Graphite, Kyanite, Aggregate, Crushed and Dimension Stone, Clays, Diatomite, Feldspar, Glass/silica Sand, Gypsum (selenite) , Kaolin, Limestone and Marble, Phosphates, Salt, Vermiculite.

The time it takes you to register your mining Company in Uganda will depend on the Type of mining activity you intend to do and how much money you have. It could take 2 weeks, a month,
2 months or even years before you can get some mining clearances from the Uganda department of Geology.

Obviously you must have incorporated a local company first before you apply for any permits.

Some of the clearances you will need include: prospecting license, exploration license, retention, location license, mining lease, export/movement permits, mineral dealer’s license, Goldsmith’s license,and certificate of amalgamation of location/mining lease.

The're several companies active in the Uganda mining sector but since this is not an industry which needs much advertising, you cannot easily know who the big players are without some insider information.

If you want to partner with or buy out a Uganda Mining company which already owns a Mining/exploration License then contact us here.
We can also assist you with acquiring your own mining lease/mineral prospecting & exploration license.