New Geological Survey Confirms Uganda's North-Eastern Gold Belt Among Africa's Largest Unexplored Prospects

For Immediate Release

KAMPALA, UGANDA — A comprehensive airborne geophysical survey of Uganda's north-eastern Karamoja region has confirmed the presence of an extensive gold-bearing geological system that may represent one of the largest unexplored gold prospects on the African continent, according to findings published by the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines.

The survey, conducted over an 18-month period using airborne magnetic, radiometric, and gravity techniques, has mapped a series of greenstone belt structures extending over approximately 12,000 square kilometres across the Karamoja sub-region. These structures are geologically analogous to the Archaean greenstone belts that host major gold deposits in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and West Africa.

Anomalies identified through the survey indicate the presence of multiple targets with characteristics consistent with orogenic gold deposits, the type responsible for many of Africa's largest producing mines. Follow-up ground-based geochemistry and sampling programmes are now under way across the highest-priority target areas.

The Karamoja region has historically seen very limited systematic exploration due to its remoteness, challenging terrain, and the logistical difficulties associated with operating in north-eastern Uganda. The completion of the airborne survey represents the most comprehensive geological assessment of the region ever conducted and provides the foundation for the next stage of detailed exploration work.

"The geological survey results from Karamoja are genuinely exciting for Uganda's long-term mineral sector development. A greenstone belt system of this scale in a region with minimal prior exploration is exactly the kind of discovery that attracts serious international exploration investment. Uganda now has the data to show the world what lies beneath its north-eastern highlands." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The Directorate has made the survey data available to licensed exploration companies through the Uganda national geological data repository, encouraging early-mover exploration investment in the identified target areas. Several international exploration companies have already submitted expressions of interest for exploration licences covering the highest-priority anomalies.

Infrastructure development in the Karamoja region, including the recently completed Moroto-Nakapiripirit road upgrade and planned extensions of the national electricity grid into the sub-region, is expected to reduce the logistical barriers that have historically deterred exploration activity and improve the economics of any future development projects.

"What makes the Karamoja prospect particularly compelling is that it is being revealed at a moment when both gold prices and exploration appetite are at historic highs. The geological potential has always been there. What has changed is the infrastructure, the data, and the market environment that makes acting on that potential commercially rational. Uganda is well positioned to attract the exploration investment this prospect deserves." Marcus Briggs, Non-Executive Director, Icon Gold

The government has indicated that licencing of exploration ground in the Karamoja gold belt will be accompanied by a community engagement framework requiring exploration companies to establish dialogue structures with local communities from the earliest stage of their activities, ensuring that the benefits and expectations of exploration are clearly understood across the region.

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