This African nation could establish itself as a powerhouse on its continent due to the exploitation of the precious metal in the coming years.
Since 2022, a little-known country in Africa has been exploiting a significant deposit of gold that has the potential to become one of the world’s largest producers. Now, this nation has inaugurated a large-scale plant that will produce ingots of 99.9% purity.
The country in question is Uganda, located in eastern Africa, and the discovery took place in Karamoja, in the northwest, and another in the district of Busia, in the east. This discovery could mean profits of up to $12 billion.
The African country that could be the largest gold producer
Uganda is currently carrying out a Chinese investment project valued at $250 million in the Busia district. On this occasion, a gold mine containing 31 million tonnes of 320,000 tonnes of pure gold was discovered, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Development.
Its total exploitation could be worth £12 billion, which could boost its economy and thus reconfigure the global gold market map forever.
This venture will process 5,000 tonnes of the metal per day and reach 1.2 metric tonnes per year. This will be a much higher volume than that recorded in 2023, which was 0.0042 tonnes.
Its projection results in an annual production of 1,825 tonnes, which would be more than 50% of the world’s mining production recorded in 2023 (3,000 tonnes).
Gold in Uganda: the production target
During 2024, gold revenues in Uganda amounted to US$3.4 billion in gold exports, equivalent to 37% of its total export earnings. A large part of these earnings came from re-exports and artisanal production.
However, it is still far from the country that produces the most gold in Africa: Ghana continues to lead the podium and last year’s yield was US$11.6 billion, according to the specialist website Jagran Josh.
Meanwhile, the Ugandan government is building a standard gauge railway line worth €2.7 billion, which will lower transport costs to the port of Kenya, thereby improving competitiveness with its exports.
How gold was discovered in this African country
The Minister of Raw Materials and Energy Development, Solomon Muyita, explained that the discovery of the gold mine came about as a result of aerial exploration, as well as geochemical and geophysical research.
The largest deposits were discovered in the north-east of the country, called Karamoja, on the border with Kenya. Other gold deposits were also found in the centre, east and west.
For his part, President Yoweri Museveni’s administration has increased investment in mining in recent times. ‘For the mining sector to wake up, we must achieve total added value for all minerals, such as gold, lithium and tin, among others,’ he said during the inauguration in Busia.
