Uganda don enter new chapter for im mining sector as President Yoweri Museveni officially open the Wagagai Gold Mining Project for Busia District on Saturday. The $250 million project, backed by Chinese investors, no be just another mine—na the country’s first-ever large-scale gold refinery. For the first time, Uganda go fit process gold reach 99.9% purity right inside the country, instead of rushing to sell raw minerals outside.
This na major breakthrough for Uganda wey long time don dey talk about “value addition” instead of exporting raw resources. The new plant go cover over nine square kilometres and fit refine about 5,000 tonnes of gold ore daily, producing around 1.2 metric tonnes of pure gold every year. To put am in perspective, Uganda’s output for 2023 no even reach 0.005 tonnes. Clearly, this na big leap.
Museveni talk say the country gats wake up when it comes to minerals: “We must add full value to gold, lithium, tin, and every other mineral.” His point clear—if Uganda process its resources at home, the money go remain for the economy, not fly away abroad.
Last year alone, Uganda earn about $3.4 billion from gold exports—nearly 37% of its export revenue. But most of that na from re-export of artisanal gold. Compared to Ghana’s whopping $11.6bn bullion exports, Uganda still dey play catch-up. With this refinery, Museveni hope say the country fit finally shift gears and compete better.
The President also promise say revenue from the refinery no go just disappear into pockets. Instead, it go fund big infrastructure projects like national railway lines and new power stations—things wey go build solid foundation for industrial growth.
On top the partnership side, Wagagai Mining (U) Limited, the Chinese-owned firm, don already create thousands of jobs and dey train Ugandan workers to handle world-class mining operations. Reports even say the refinery sometimes reach 99.99% purity level—a benchmark for global gold standards.
Museveni also appeal to local artisanal miners to partner with the refinery instead of selling unprocessed minerals anyhow. This collaboration go make sure everybody benefit, not just foreign buyers.
Finally, this project align well with Uganda’s ongoing infrastructure upgrades, including the $3.16bn standard-gauge railway wey dey under construction to cut transport costs and boost trade with Kenya. If everything go as planned, this gold refinery no just go change Uganda’s mining story, but also redefine the country’s place for Africa’s mineral economy.
