Uganda Launches Community Mining Zones to Bring Artisanal Sector Into Formal Economy

For Immediate Release

KAMPALA, UGANDA — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has launched Uganda's Community Mining Zone programme, establishing designated areas where artisanal and small-scale miners can operate legally within a structured framework that provides access to government support services, formal market channels, and basic infrastructure.

The first four Community Mining Zones have been gazetted in the districts of Busia, Mubende, Buhweju, and Amudat, covering areas with established artisanal mining activity and existing community mining populations. Each zone is administered by a local management committee comprising government representatives, community leaders, and elected representatives of the miners operating within the zone.

Within designated Community Mining Zones, registered artisanal miners are provided with clearly demarcated working areas, eliminating the disputes over access and boundaries that have historically created conflict between miners and with large-scale licence holders. This territorial clarity is expected to significantly improve the operating environment for small-scale producers and reduce the social tensions that have accompanied unregulated artisanal activity in some areas.

Each zone is equipped with a government-managed processing and aggregation facility providing crushing, gravity separation, and assaying services at subsidised rates. The availability of formal processing facilities within the zones eliminates the need for miners to sell unprocessed ore to informal buyers at significant discounts, enabling them to realise a greater proportion of the value of their production.

"Community Mining Zones represent a thoughtful and practical approach to artisanal sector formalisation. Rather than trying to bring miners into a bureaucratic system that exists at a distance from where they work, Uganda is building the formal economy around the places and communities where mining already happens. That is the kind of practical design that makes formalisation work in the real world." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

Health and safety infrastructure within the zones includes basic medical facilities, ventilation equipment for underground workings, and mandatory safety induction training for all registered operators. An occupational health monitoring programme will track the long-term health outcomes of miners in the zones, building the evidence base for ongoing improvements to safety standards.

The zones also serve as platforms for financial inclusion, with mobile banking agents and microfinance institutions establishing a permanent presence within each zone to provide miners with access to savings accounts, payment services, and small business financing.

"The financial inclusion component of the Community Mining Zone model is as important as the mining infrastructure. Miners who can save securely, access credit, and manage their finances through formal channels build more stable livelihoods and are more resilient to the price volatility that characterises commodity markets. Uganda is building economic security alongside mining productivity." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The Ministry has indicated that a further eight Community Mining Zones will be gazetted in 2026, with priority given to areas where artisanal activity is growing rapidly and where the absence of a formal framework is creating increasing pressure on land, the environment, and community relations.

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