The government plans to start giving out new licenses for mining again, now that the new Mining and Minerals Act is in effect.
These licenses were temporarily stopped by the Directorate of Geological Surveys and Mines until they had proper guidelines after the Mining and Mineral Act 2022 became a law.
Peter Lokeris, the State Minister for Minerals, says that with the guidelines in place, the Directorate of Geological Surveys and Mines, which is responsible for overseeing the mineral sector as per the law, can start giving out new licenses all over the country.
Lokeris mentioned this during the beginning of a four-day minerals workshop in Kampala. This workshop is mainly to help people in the mining sector understand the new mining laws and rules.
The new law has recognized artisan miners for the first time. It has different types of licenses for different types of mining, like small-scale and artisanal mining licenses. There are also licenses for large-scale mining, medium-scale mining, and more.
Before now, the number of people or companies given mining licenses has been growing. In 2003, there were about 100 licenses. By June 30, 2023, the number had grown to 556 licenses. These include exploration licenses, mining leases, and more. This increase in licenses also means more money coming in from the sector.
Starting this year, getting a mining license will involve competition. The law also talks about licenses for processing minerals and sets penalties for breaking the rules.
Earnings from the mining sector have gone up from around $5 million in 2003 to $800 million in 2017. The ministry hasn’t shared the earnings from 2017 until now.
Around that time, President Museveni stopped the export of raw minerals, saying that processing them in the country would give more value. Some miners have been asking the President to lift this ban.
According to the Uganda Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (UGEITI), revenues from the extractive sector were about UGX 241.34 billion in 2020-21. Most of this came from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). The mining sector contributed about 61 billion shillings.
Earnings from non-tax revenue, like license fees and royalties, have gone up from about 1.8 billion Uganda Shillings in 2003 to 11.3 billion in 2022-23.
The mining and quarrying sector contributed to about 1.8% of the country’s total in the FY2020-21.
To earn more from this sector, the ministry plans to begin the Mineral Resources Infrastructure Development Project (MRIP) from 2023 to 2028. This project wants to build important things for monitoring and controlling mining activities in the country.
Uganda Vision 2040 wants mining to create more jobs and help the economy. The National Development Plan III (NDP III) shows that the number of people working in the mining sector will go from 1.6 million in 2017/2018 to 2.6 million in 2024/2025.
The new law also aims to stop the use of mercury in gold mining. Uganda is a part of the Minamata Convention on Mercury, which aims to reduce mercury pollution. Mercury is harmful, both for the environment and for the health of miners. The government is working with partners like planet GOLD to reduce mercury use and improve the lives of miners.
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