{"id":4220,"date":"2021-10-07T14:52:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T14:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=4220"},"modified":"2021-10-07T14:52:45","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T14:52:45","slug":"state-minister-for-minerals-hon-lokeris-commissions-wagagai-gold-mining-uganda-project-in-busia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/state-minister-for-minerals-hon-lokeris-commissions-wagagai-gold-mining-uganda-project-in-busia\/","title":{"rendered":"State Minister for Minerals Hon. Lokeris Commissions Wagagai Gold Mining Uganda project in Busia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Minister of State for Mineral Development Hon. Peter Lokeris has officially commissioned a gold mining project being undertaken by &nbsp;Wagagai Mining (U) Limited, aat Alupe gold field in Busia District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hon Lokeris said that the Wagagai Gold project being implemented by Wagagai Mining (U) Limited &nbsp;was a clear example of&nbsp; Uganda\u2019s conducive environment for investments in the minerals sector .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGovernment will always endeavor to sustain an enabling environment for investments to ensure that investors accrue returns from their investments and Ugandans also derive the most optimal benefits from mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The government further accords high priority to development of the mineral sector and has put in place a new Mining and Mineral Policy 2018, which seeks to streamline the sub-sector to promote investment, value addition, competitive national participation, revenue generation and poverty eradication for socio-economic transformation,\u201d Hon. Lokeris explained .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the minister, the Wagagai &nbsp;is one of the key projects that is building up on government efforts to&nbsp; extract and add value to the country\u2019s mineral resources- for job creation and industrialization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith the development of &nbsp;large scale gold mining and value addition in the country, many jobs will be created. These jobs together with the economic changes and opportunities that come with the project in the area, can completely change the economies of the region and the country at large. Therefore, I call upon the communities and their leaders to offer support to such projects that will benefit the communities, the region and the country at large,\u201d said Hon Lokeris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The &nbsp;minister who &nbsp;was on an official tour of the mining sites in Eastern Uganda &nbsp;was accompanied by the Director for Geological Surveys and Mines Ms. Agnes Alaba who represented the Permanent Secretary Mrs Irene Batebe and officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ms Agnes Alaba, the Director for Geological Surveys and Mines said that the Uganda &nbsp;government highly prioritizes the minerals subsector because the exploitation of these resources are critical for industrialization and it will continue to undertake interventions to support the development of the mineral sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Ministry will continue providing necessary assistance to the private sector in terms of mineral information, licensing and enhancing infrastructure for mining projects; carrying out geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys to acquire and package information on Uganda\u2019s mineral resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ministry of Energy will also carry out detailed evaluation of mineral commodities into bankable feasibility studies; construct mineral beneficiation centers to promote local mineral value addition and strengthening institutional research capacity in geosciences, mining and promote mineral value addition,\u201d Alaba stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uganda is richly endowed with a variety of valuable mineral resources which &nbsp;including among others &#8211; gold, copper, cobalt, tin, iron ore. These mineral untapped mineral resources&nbsp; give the country great socio-economic development opportunities as outlined in the &nbsp;National Development Plan (NDP III).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The growth opportunities created by the minerals subsector &nbsp;will lead to &nbsp;industrialization, increase export earnings and create jobs that eventually improve household income and quality of life for the Ugandan people .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, Wagagai Mining Limited is employing over 700 Ugandans and intends to create employment for over 3,000 Ugandans and provide training to more than 500 local technicians. The company is stepping up the construction of the needed infrastructure and has built staff dormitory, office, laboratory, warehouse, parking lot, and fuel station among others- covering an area of more than 250 acres. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company expects to commence mineral production in 2023 and it will be the largest and most technically advanced metal mine in Uganda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Minister of State for Mineral Development Hon. Peter Lokeris has officially commissioned a gold mining<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[24,168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-national-development"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/loke.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5227,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/nankabirwa-cautions-mining-companies-against-abuse-of-employees-human-rights-and-environmental-destruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":0},"title":"Nankabirwa cautions mining companies against abuse of employee\u2019s human rights and environmental destruction","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"March 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Hon Ruth Nankabirwa has cautioned mining companies in Eastern Uganda to observe their employee\u2019s safety at all times while on duty and to practice sustainable exploitation of minerals. This was during the minister\u2019s induction tour of the minerals sub\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Energy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Energy","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/energy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/en.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/en.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/en.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/en.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/en.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15125,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-museveni-to-launch-wagagai-gold-mine-and-refinery-in-busia-on-saturday\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":1},"title":"President Museveni To Launch Wagagai Gold Mine and Refinery In Busia On Saturday","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Zulfah Namatovu The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has announced the launch of the Wagagai Gold Mine and Refinery in Busia District, a $150 million investment by Wagagai Mining (U) Limited. This state-of-the-art facility will refine gold to 99.99% purity and produce up to 1.5 tons annually, positioning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3c0e1d5fc5d74a348fc5bf040313357b.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3c0e1d5fc5d74a348fc5bf040313357b.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3c0e1d5fc5d74a348fc5bf040313357b.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3c0e1d5fc5d74a348fc5bf040313357b.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15167,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-museveni-commissions-wagagai-gold-refinery\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":2},"title":"President Museveni Commissions Wagagai Gold Refinery In Busia","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"August 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Zulfah Namatovu in Busia President Museveni has commissioned the Wagagai Gold Mining Project in Busia district, describing it as a transformative milestone that will end the wasteful export of raw minerals and usher Uganda into a new era of value addition. During the commissioning, the president congratulated Wagagai Mining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mu8.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mu8.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mu8.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mu8.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mu8.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7669,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/hon-peter-lokeris-asks-financial-institutions-to-offer-loans-to-small-scale-miners\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":3},"title":"HON PETER LOKERIS ASKS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO OFFER LOANS TO SMALL SCALE MINERS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"December 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Zulfah Namatovu The Minister of State for Minerals Hon Peter Lokeris has called upon all banking institutions to help miners\u2019 access financial help in terms of loans. He was speaking at the opening of a two day -4th annual ASM conference \u00a0and launch of the great lakes mining and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minerals&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minerals","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/minerals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/HON-MIN-PETER-LOKERIS3-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/HON-MIN-PETER-LOKERIS3-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/HON-MIN-PETER-LOKERIS3-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/HON-MIN-PETER-LOKERIS3-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/HON-MIN-PETER-LOKERIS3-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4945,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/energy-ministry-to-fast-track-mining-and-minerals-bill\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":4},"title":"Energy Ministry to fast track  Mining and Minerals Bill","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Sierra Ruth Arinaitwe The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Hon Ruth Nankabirwa has vowed to fast track and defend the Mining and Minerals bill 2020 before the Parliament of Uganda to have it passed as soon as possible. The Mining and Minerals Bill which seeks to consolidate and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National Development&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National Development","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nakab.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nakab.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nakab.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nakab.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/nakab.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7713,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/government-crimilises-use-of-mercury-in-mining\/","url_meta":{"origin":4220,"position":5},"title":"GOVERNMENT CRIMINALISES USE OF MERCURY IN MINING","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"December 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Zulfah Namatovu In Kampala \u00a0Mercury is known for recovering minute pieces of gold that is mixed in soil and sediments. These two combine together to form an amalgam of which gold is then extracted by vaporizing the mercury. \u00a0In Uganda the use of mercury by artisanal gold miners is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Minerals&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Minerals","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/minerals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gro.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gro.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gro.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gro.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/gro.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-164","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4220"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4222,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4220\/revisions\/4222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}