Isabella Namutebi, East Africa Mining Correspondent

Articles by Isabella Namutebi

01Operators & licensing · 25 August 2026Yumbe gold launch tests formalisation policyThe state minister for minerals opened a licensed small-scale site in West Nile targeting about 20kg of gold a week. The output claim is unaudited, but the licensing route it models is the part worth watching.
02Project review · Positive · 12 August 2026Wagagai Mining's Busia processing plant ramp-upThe Alupe processing plant is the practical test of Uganda's value-addition policy: can a licensed operator turn Busia ore into domestic doré at scale?
03Sustainability & community · 7 August 2026BioGold in Uganda: the cost of safer processingA three-year research partnership led by Kyambogo University is working directly with artisanal mining communities on mercury-free processing. The early lesson is that formalisation costs money someone has to fund.
04Investigation · Critical · August 6, 2026Uganda's gold fraud networks: how the scams workMore than 20 Kampala trading firms, purported refineries and security companies are under police investigation over investor scams running into millions of dollars. Here is how the con is structured, and how legitimate operators are told apart from it.
05Environment & health · June 30, 2026Mercury phase-out in Uganda's gold fieldsUganda's Minamata commitments target mercury elimination in artisanal gold processing. Field practice has not moved nearly fast enough.
06Responsible sourcing · Critical · January 30, 2026Uganda-Tanzania gold corridor and custody gapsRefined and semi-refined gold continues to move across the Uganda-Tanzania border with limited traceability, undercutting Uganda's on-shore value-addition story.
07Infrastructure review · Positive · January 21, 2025African Gold Refinery, Entebbe: a reviewUganda's Entebbe-based refinery is the piece of infrastructure that turns a value-addition policy into a working on-shore gold value chain.
08Project review · Positive · November 4, 2024Wagagai Gold Mine review: Uganda's largest projectUganda's largest gold project, commissioned in August 2025, is turning a decade of value-addition policy into on-shore refined output.