Government Urges Investors to Prioritize Local Minerals Value Addition to Create Sustainable Jobs

The Government of Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to prioritizing mineral value addition, urging investors to process minerals within the country rather than exporting them in raw form.

 

The call was made by the Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development in charge of Energy, Sidronius Okaasai Opolot, while delivering his remarks at the 15th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference 2026 held today at Speke Resort, Munyonyo.

 

Minister Opolot said government has taken a deliberate decision to stop the exportation of unprocessed minerals, noting that value addition is the only way Uganda can reap maximum benefits from its mineral wealth.

 

Opolot added that government has put in place the necessary policy and legal framework to support local processing, including licensing incentives for investors who set up refineries and processing plants in Uganda.

 

He emphasized that the move is aimed at creating sustainable jobs for Ugandans, promoting technology and skills transfer, and increasing the country’s revenue base from the mining sector.

 

Meanwhile, Ecobank Managing Director Grace B. Muliisa said Uganda plans to grow its economy from about 59 billion US dollars to 500 billion dollars by 2040, with minerals at the heart of that plan.

 

She noted that minerals such as copper, cobalt, graphite, rare earths, iron ore and gold are the building blocks of the global energy transition, but that most of the value lies beyond mining.

 

She explained that in the global battery value chain, mining raw minerals is worth about 11 billion dollars, refining them about 44 billion dollars, making battery components about 271 billion dollars, while building equipment and electric vehicles is worth over 1.2 trillion dollars – meaning the mine earns less than one cent of every dollar created in the chain.

 

Muliisa observed that much of Africa still digs, ships and waits, with smelting and all the downstream processing happening elsewhere. She pointed out that rail corridors continue to carry ore to ports, not to factories, while only about 16 percent of Africa’s trade is with itself.

 

She said a powerhouse cannot be built that way. Uganda does not need to own every stage of the value chain, but every step beyond the pit, into concentrating, refining, processing and manufacturing, multiplies jobs, skills and the tax base. She added that with the East African market and the African Continental Free Trade Area, the customers are close by.

 

This year’s conference is running under the theme, “Beneath the Surface: Unlocking Africa’s Next Mining Powerhouse.”

 

The two-day conference has attracted government officials, investors, mining companies, financiers and development partners to deliberate on how Uganda can position itself as Africa’s next competitive mining hub.