Uganda is considering building a gold refinery complex to capitalize on its gold reserves, along with regulation of artisanal mining, President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement late Wednesday.
He said the refinery would be part of a collaboration of East African countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, and South Sudan.
Dore, a semi-refined silver/gold alloy, was currently being exported for around $970/troy oz to refineries overseas, whereas and ounce of refined bullion was trading around $1,215/oz, he added.
"We must build a gold refinery in the region. The only gold refineries are, apparently, in Dubai and in South Africa," Museveni said.
He added that East African countries need to reap more profit from the supply chain.
"Therefore, the artisanal mining needs to be monitored and guided so that they do not become part of the outflow of our income...Artisanal miners should be regulated and what they are harvesting should be known and recorded," he said.
He noted Uganda is planning to build a fully-equipped laboratory that can analyze gold samples so as to determine the exact content.
The goal is to open a regulated artisanal mining community to international investors. Therefore small scale mining needs to be legalized to stop the black market trade, the statement said.
"Artisanal mining, exploration, industrial mining and processing as well as refining [need to be coordinated and legalized]. Otherwise, unregulated and illegal artisanal mining will be part of the capital outflow and will block great opportunities: industrial mining, processing and refining which bring in much more money, transfer of technology and create more jobs," Museveni added.
