Renson Mwakandana
Following many studies, Uganda has declared that it had found 31 million metric tons of gold that is ready to be mined in the nation. The studies are intended to draw gold miners and investors to the cryptocurrency industry, according to Solomon Muyita, a spokesman for the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
The Ugandan government has thus given the Wagagai gold mining business, a Chinese enterprise, permission to begin manufacturing gold goods in Busia area to strengthen the nation’s economy.
In stages, the business began building its $200 million gold refinery in the neighborhood in 2016. According to Muyita, mining for the newly discovered gold may begin right away, according to NASDAQ.
Local gold refining will increase employment creation and improve the provision of social services to persons residing near the mines. Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, has demanded that the commodities be refined locally and has labeled any foreign refineries as illegal.
“It is criminal for anybody to argue for the continued exports of raw materials in Africa when there is 90% more value in that product that you are giving to the outsiders” he stated.
According to Tan Chun Chi, general manager of the Wagagai gold mining firm, the investment now totals $60 million. The corporation has a 21-year lease to mine gold in the nation and just got a gold production license in March this year. They anticipate doubling their speed as they plan to start producing gold by July 2023.
The corporation put $200 million towards building a refining facility. The amount of gold that is mined is impacted by the mining difficulty, which is remarkably high despite all the gold that has been discovered in the nation. Every year, between 2500 and 3000 metric tonnes are mined.
Winnie Ngabirwe, a Mineral Development Expert, remarked that: “If this is indeed the volume that we have, it is time to clean our house, and do business, in developing ourselves and our country, by going to the middle-income status and beyond.”