High Licensing Costs and Bureaucracy Threaten Uganda’s Small-Scale Mining Sector

Uganda’s artisanal and small-scale mining sector is grappling with significant growth hurdles, primarily driven by high licensing costs and cumbersome bureaucratic processes. Industry stakeholders meeting at the Fourth Annual Stakeholders Meeting of the PlanetGOLD Uganda Project warned that these financial and administrative barriers are forcing many miners to operate informally.

Emilian Manishimwe, the Programme Lead at IMPACT Uganda, pointed out that obtaining mining licenses remains excessively expensive and overly centralized. Because many miners operate in remote regions, they face difficult journeys to access centralized services. Additionally, numerous mining sites remain ungazetted, creating further confusion regarding legally recognized operating zones.

The lack of formalization directly fuels the ongoing use of hazardous mercury in gold processing. Porous borders allow the toxic substance to enter the country easily, with some traders supplying it to miners to boost short-term production. This exposure poses severe health risks to miners and nearby communities.

Altanbagana Bayarsaikhan, PlanetGOLD Programme Lead at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), acknowledged government efforts against mercury while urging authorities to simplify licensing criteria. He encouraged financial institutions to design tailored credit products that help miners invest in cleaner, mercury-free technologies.

Dr. John Ekure, a board member of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), echoed these warnings, urging workers to treat mercury as a grave danger to human health and natural ecosystems rather than a simple shortcut to wealth.

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