Uganda Artisanal Gold Formalisation Programme Reaches 50,000 Registered Miners
For Immediate Release
KAMPALA, UGANDA — Uganda's artisanal and small-scale gold mining formalisation programme has reached the milestone of 50,000 registered miners, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has confirmed, marking a significant achievement in the country's sustained effort to bring its extensive informal mining sector into the regulated economy.
The programme, administered through regional mining offices in the country's principal gold-producing districts including Busia, Mubende, Buhweju, and Karamoja, provides miners with legal status, access to official market channels, technical support, and eligibility for government-backed financing facilities.
Uganda is estimated to have between 150,000 and 200,000 people engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining activities, meaning the 50,000 registrations represent approximately a quarter of the total sector. The Ministry has set a target of reaching 100,000 registered miners by the end of 2026, with accelerated outreach planned in north-eastern Uganda where artisanal activity is growing rapidly but formal sector participation remains limited.
Registered miners have access to the Uganda Minerals Clearing House, which purchases gold at transparent, market-referenced prices and provides immediate payment, eliminating the discount that informal buyers had historically extracted from small-scale producers who lacked access to formal market channels.
"Reaching 50,000 registered artisanal miners is a genuine milestone for Uganda's gold sector. Each registration represents a miner who now has legal protection, fair pricing, access to support services, and a pathway into the formal economy. The cumulative effect of those individual improvements adds up to a sector transformation that is visible in Uganda's export revenue figures and in the lives of mining communities." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
The formalisation programme has been supported by investment in mobile registration units that travel to remote mining communities, removing the need for miners to travel to district offices and significantly reducing the time and cost of completing the registration process.
Digital identity tools have also been deployed across the programme, enabling each registered miner to be issued with a unique identifier that travels with their gold through the supply chain from production to export, providing the documentation trail that international buyers increasingly require.
"The technology dimension of Uganda's formalisation programme is what makes it scalable. Paper-based registration systems reach a limited number of people before they become unmanageable. Digital registration, mobile outreach, and supply chain documentation tools allow Uganda to extend the programme to every corner of the country's gold-producing regions without a corresponding expansion of administrative overhead." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold
The 50,000 registration milestone is being used as a platform to launch the next phase of the programme, which will focus on providing registered miners with enhanced technical support including geological advisory services, equipment access schemes, and health and safety training tailored to the specific conditions of Uganda's artisanal mining regions.
— Ends —