Uganda’s 2009 mineral exports up
Dec 06, 2009
KAMPALA<br>Uganda expects to earn about $55m from its mineral exports this year, higher than $52.7m in 2008, a government official said.
KAMPALA
Uganda expects to earn about $55m from its mineral exports this year, higher than $52.7m in 2008, a government official said.
The country’s mining sector is viewed as underexploited with small scale miners mainly involved in gold and cobalt, the leading mineral exports. Earnings from the resources reached a high of $88m in 2007.
Uganda recently completed mapping 80% of the country and the geological data obtained is already spurring increased investor interest in the sector, Joshua Tuhumwire, head of the department of geological survey and mines, told Reuters.
“There is an increase in the number of firms taking up exploration licenses. Currently, the number of licenses is about 500 from 360, a year ago,†Tuhumwire said in an interview late on Friday.
The impact of the global economic crisis was stifling investments in Uganda’s mining sector, he said.
“Exploration investment funds are raised on stock markets mainly in Toronto, London, Vancouver, New York, Australia and others,†he said. “With the economic downturn,exploration spending has gone down remarkably, and Uganda has been no exception.â€
A three-year geophysical survey whose findings were released in July showed Uganda has sizeable deposits of a variety of minerals including phosphates, collumbite tantalite, chromite, diamond, gold, tin and wolfram.
Tuhumwire hoped a number of current exploration projects by small and medium-sized firms would be successful, helping the drive to attract major firms into the sector.
The country’s land laws were frustrating the drive to attract much needed investments into the sector, Tuhumwire added.
“Whereas the Constitution vests land in the people, minerals are vested in the Government and it becomes hard to explore or exploit the minerals when landowners refuse a mineral license holder access to the land,†he said.
Reuters
Uganda expects to earn about $55m from its mineral exports this year, higher than $52.7m in 2008, a government official said.
The country’s mining sector is viewed as underexploited with small scale miners mainly involved in gold and cobalt, the leading mineral exports. Earnings from the resources reached a high of $88m in 2007.
Uganda recently completed mapping 80% of the country and the geological data obtained is already spurring increased investor interest in the sector, Joshua Tuhumwire, head of the department of geological survey and mines, told Reuters.
“There is an increase in the number of firms taking up exploration licenses. Currently, the number of licenses is about 500 from 360, a year ago,†Tuhumwire said in an interview late on Friday.
The impact of the global economic crisis was stifling investments in Uganda’s mining sector, he said.
“Exploration investment funds are raised on stock markets mainly in Toronto, London, Vancouver, New York, Australia and others,†he said. “With the economic downturn,exploration spending has gone down remarkably, and Uganda has been no exception.â€
A three-year geophysical survey whose findings were released in July showed Uganda has sizeable deposits of a variety of minerals including phosphates, collumbite tantalite, chromite, diamond, gold, tin and wolfram.
Tuhumwire hoped a number of current exploration projects by small and medium-sized firms would be successful, helping the drive to attract major firms into the sector.
The country’s land laws were frustrating the drive to attract much needed investments into the sector, Tuhumwire added.
“Whereas the Constitution vests land in the people, minerals are vested in the Government and it becomes hard to explore or exploit the minerals when landowners refuse a mineral license holder access to the land,†he said.
Reuters