Uganda is stepping up its campaign to attract international investors into its mining and critical minerals sector, with officials putting the country’s estimated mineral wealth at between $4 trillion and $12 trillion.
Ugandan officials presented the investment opportunities at the Africa Down Under mining conference in Perth, Australia.
The country wants to increase mining’s contribution to economic growth by attracting capital and technology into exploration, extraction and mineral processing.
Critical minerals are becoming increasingly important globally because of their use in manufacturing, energy technologies, electronics and other strategic industries.
Uganda’s investment pitch comes as countries compete to secure alternative sources of minerals needed for the global energy transition.
The government is seeking investors who can bring not only capital but also technology and processing capacity.
Officials argue that developing the sector locally would create employment, increase government revenues and enable Uganda to capture more value from its mineral resources.
Uganda’s challenge will be to convert its substantial geological potential into commercially viable projects while maintaining strong environmental, regulatory and community safeguards.
The government is therefore positioning mineral processing and value addition as key components of its investment strategy.
