A multimillion dollar large-scale gold mining and refining plant called Wagagai Mining (U) Limited is set to start operating in March 2024 in Alupe, Busia (Eastern Uganda).
The company’s general manager, Mr. Tan Jiuchang, stated that the firm is setting up all aspects of the mining value chain, including exploration, mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining, logistics, and foreign trade sales, in his remarks to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Mineral Development that recently visited the facility.
Our goal is to have this facility fully operational by March of the following year (2024). The plant will be commissioned between March and April 2024, according to Mr. Tan Jiuchang.
According to him, the facility has an installed capacity to process 5 tons of gold ore per day and refine gold to 99.99 percent purity. “We have so far sunk in over US$200 million to construct the ground infrastructure to completion,” he said.
He said, “A proven gold ore reserve of 15 million tonnes is present in a greenstone belt in the Busia district under Wagagai, but the ore reserve is expected to exceed 30 million tonnes over a life of 30 years.”
“The Shandong Gold Design Institute of China, which has the most cutting-edge mining machinery and a qualified management team, developed and designed this project. During operation, it will support 3,000 local jobs, generate US$100 million in annual foreign exchange, and pay US$10 million in taxes, according to Mr. Jiuchang.
The visiting team, which was led by Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, visited the mega plant’s facilities, including the network of underground tunnels and an 800-meter shaft that will be used to transport the mined gold ore to the surface for processing. Other members of the visiting team included Ministers of State Mr. Jacob Oboth-Oboth (Defense) and Mr. Amos Lugoloobi.
The group also visited a modern laboratory, storage facilities, the foundation of a gold refinery that was still under construction, and equipment for mining and prospecting.
Minister Nankabirwa addressed the corporation and stated that the goal of Cabinet was to determine the status of the nation’s ongoing attempts to add value to Uganda’s minerals before export, in accordance with the president’s restriction on the export of raw minerals from Uganda. “We appreciate the ongoing efforts, not only to mine gold at this facility on a large scale, but also to have it processed up to 99.99 percent purity,” the Minister stated.
In response to Mr. Jiuchang’s claims that Wagagai would be the area’s largest power consumer, the Minister stated that plans were in the works to build a 400kV powerline from Karuma to Tororo and a larger substation in order to improve the region’s electricity reliability.
Amos Lugoloobi, the state’s minister of finance, stated that the government was revising its income plan for the gold sector in order to put policies in place that would permit fair and ideal benefits for both the investor and the nation.
One of the few mineral resource-rich nations in Africa, Uganda has resources of gold, uranium, iron ore, limestone, marble, copper, cobalt, phosphoric acid, and lithium. The districts of Buhweju, Mubende, Namayingo, Karamoja, Kisoro, and Zombo continue to conduct more gold reserve exploration operations with encouraging outcomes.
The Ministries of Energy and Mineral Development, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology, Defense and Veterans Affairs, Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and the Attorney General’s Chambers make up the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Minerals.
