By Kenneth Asiimwe

As the voice of over 500,000 artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) across Uganda, I speak from the deep gold shafts of Mubende, Kassanda and Busia, the quarries of Karamoja, salt ponds of Katwe, tin plains of Isingiro and iron ore heaps of Kigezi.

For ASMs are the heartbeat of this nation’s mineral sector, producing over 90% of what comes from the ground.

Yet, for generations, this contribution has remained largely informal, undercapitalized, and disconnected from mainstream investment.

That reality is beginning to change.

Uganda’s mining sector is entering a phase where informal production models are no longer sufficient.

Access to capital, markets, and technology increasingly depends on documentation, compliance, and credible business structures. This shift is not about abandoning traditional mining practices overnight. It is about complementing them with systems that allow miners to participate meaningfully in a modern minerals economy.

Investors today require verifiable information: licenses that can be checked digitally, geological data that supports resource estimates, environmental approvals, and governance structures that reduce operational risk.

These are not arbitrary demands. They are standard requirements for bankable projects.

For artisanal miners, this creates what many perceive as an “expectation gap” – between what miners know exists underground and what financiers need to see on paper. Closing that gap is now one of the sector’s most urgent tasks.

Pillars

Uganda’s Mining and Minerals Act, 2022 provides a clearer framework for formalization. Within this framework, ASM enterprises must increasingly focus on three fundamentals.

First, secure and transparent licensing. Mineral rights must be properly registered in the Mining Cadastre, companies formally incorporated, and surface access agreements documented. These steps are not bureaucratic obstacles; they establish legal certainty and protect investments.

Second, basic geological and technical validation. A professional geological report converts informal knowledge into measurable assets. It enables miners to demonstrate ore grades, estimated volumes, and extraction plans.

While this comes at a cost, it is often the single most important document when engaging financiers or strategic partners.

Third, environmental and social compliance. Approvals from bodies such as National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and Community Development Agreements (CDAs) provide assurance that mining activities are responsible and sustainable.

For ASM operators, there is a strong case for scaling compliance requirements to operational size, including greater use of Environmental Management Plans (EMPs) as an affordable alternative to full Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs).

But compliance itself is no longer optional.

Competitive Setting

Government reforms are already improving Uganda’s attractiveness. The digital cadastre allows investors to verify licenses remotely.

Policy emphasis on domestic value addition – including restrictions on exporting mineral concentrates – is encouraging investment in local processing.

These changes are beginning to shift Uganda away from raw material exports toward integrated mineral value chains.

For artisanal miners, this opens new opportunities to participate in refining, aggregation, and supply contracts, provided operations are organized and traceable.

Mining Commissioneer, Agnes Alaba (3rd R), visiting the MUMA mining area in Bukuya, Kassanda last year. MUMA has acquired a small-scale mining license after operating in the artisanal space for long

The transition, however, carries costs.

Geological studies, legal incorporation, environmental approvals, and business planning all require upfront investment – before the first dollar of profit.

Some sites will prove commercially unviable.

While difficult, this is part of responsible sector growth – avoiding wasted capital, environmental degradation, and social conflict.

For enterprises that succeed, the rewards are substantial: access to formal finance, better pricing, long-term contracts, and the possibility of building durable mining businesses rather than short-term survival operations.

Way Forward

Fellow miners, we must organize more deliberately — through cooperatives and associations — to share technical costs and improve bargaining power.

Basic training in bookkeeping, reporting, and community engagement should become standard. Mining must increasingly be treated as a business, not just an activity.

Government, for its part, should continue simplifying compliance pathways, expand extension services for ASMs, and consider targeted grants or co-financing for first-time geological assessments.

Enforcement alone is not enough; structured support for enterprise development is equally important.

For investors and partners, Uganda’s ASM sector deserves renewed attention. The sector is formalizing, improving traceability, and building capacity.

Opportunities now exist for partnerships that combine local knowledge with technical and financial expertise.

Uganda’s artisanal mining future does not lie in deeper pits alone. It lies in better documentation, clearer governance, and stronger enterprises. Moving from informal extraction to organized production is not a loss of identity – it is an evolution.

If miners, government, and investors stay aligned, artisanal mining can become a credible pillar of Uganda’s industrial development.

The goal is simple: transform subsistence operations into sustainable businesses, and mineral wealth into lasting economic value.

The writer, is the CEO, Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small Scale Miners (UGAASM). Email: kenasiimwe@gmail.com