Government to set up National Minerals Company

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The government is to establish a National Minerals Company that will oversee Uganda’s investment in the mineral sector, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy & Mineral Development, Irene Batebe, has revealed.

“The National Mining Company will hold the stakes commercial interest in the mining sub-sector and it will invest on behalf of the Government in our strategic minerals; rare earth elements and cobalt. We are already preparing to ensure that we pilot its investment through Kilembe Mines, so we are working on that. We are already working on capitalization and we are working with the Ministry of Finance to make that happen as we work to fully operationalize that company,” Batebe said.

Batebe disclosed on Tuesday, February 24, 2024, while appearing before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to respond to some of the queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the 2023/24 financial year.

Batebe said, “We do a boost of significant mineral deposits and we are working to see how these add value as one of the few policy directives is value addition where we banned the export of unprocessed minerals to ensure value for money. We are working to put in place a National Mining Company this will be nearing what Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) is doing.”

Uganda National Oil Company Limited (UNOC) is a limited liability company wholly owned by the Government of Uganda.

Its overall function is to handle the Government of Uganda’s commercial interests in the petroleum sector and to ensure that the resource is exploited sustainably.

The Petroleum (Exploration, Development, and Production) Act 2013 mandates UNOC to manage State Participation in petroleum activities and to investigate and propose new upstream, midstream, and downstream ventures.