Advancing Gold Mining and Value Addition in Busia

Located in Alupe, Busia District, the Wagagai Gold Project represents a significant development in Uganda’s gold mining and mineral processing sector. The project combines large-scale gold mining with in-country processing and refining, creating an opportunity to retain greater value from Uganda’s gold resources.

The project was commissioned in August 2025, with Phase One featuring a modern processing and refining facility designed to process up to 5,000 tonnes of ore per day and produce approximately 1.2 tonnes of refined gold annually at up to 99.99% purity.

Beyond gold production, the project demonstrates the potential for mineral development to support employment, skills development, local supply chains and wider economic activity. It also illustrates the importance of moving from extraction towards processing and value addition within Uganda.

For UNMC, Wagagai reflects the broader opportunity to strengthen Uganda’s participation in the mineral value chain and help transform mineral resources into productive assets, value-added products and sustainable economic value.

From gold resources to refined gold, Wagagai demonstrates the potential of value addition to create greater value from Uganda’s mineral wealth.