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October 1, 2025
By Sadique Bamwita
Entebbe
The Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development, Hon.Phiona Nyamutoro has launched PanAfGeo+program to enhance mineral exploration in Uganda. The launch of the four year program followed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 18,2025, between the Directorate of Geological survey and Mines of Uganda and Geological survey of Slovenia and European Union -a consortium of other European countries .
Minister Nyamutoro believes the program will help to bridge the gap that exists in quantification of Uganda’s mineral resources.
Speaking during the launch of PanAfGeo+ program in Entebbe, Minister Phiona Nyamutoro expressed optimism that the new program will address the huge gap that exists in quantification of Uganda’s mineral resources which limits the bargaining power with the investors.
” Government focus is on quantification of minerals, so the program will help to bridge that gap. The biggest challenge in the mineral sector is that we lack the exact quantification of what exists hence this limits when it comes to bargaining with the investor .
‘ But this time round we want to be certain when we are talking about the existence of our mineral resources, to know the extent which is there for economic viability.
The program will enable us to work on the list of critical minerals and this will enable us to have exact results for international standardization , “the Minister elaborated.’
Minister Nyamutoro strongly warned investors dealing in mineral resources to avoid scammers and advised them to go through a formal process by obtaining a license from the ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
“Any investor who is interested in gold or any other mineral, should use a formal process by first going to the ministry to acquire all the necessary information he/she needs and then get a license that is relevant, “Minister Nyamutoro explained.
The Ambassador of Delegation of European Union to Uganda Jan Sadek, said since Uganda is well blessed with rich minerals ,the PanAfGeo program will help to map the minerals in Uganda and on how they are used and present them to investors as ready packages for them to come and invest.
The Undersecretary Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Ms.Grace Tusiime, said the program will greatly enhance mineral exploration , data collection and management in addition to building capacities of her mineral experts.
The Acting Commissioner at the Directorate of Geological survey and mines in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, Dr. Alex Fred Tugume, noted that the program is hoped to build capacities of their staff and also enhance data collection on lists of critical mineral resources.
” Mineral exploration has been going on for years. With this program, we shall focus on key areas so that they can be funded, ” Dr. Tugume said.’
The Director Geological survey of Slovenia, Dr. Milos Bavec, said the program will enhance the mineral potential of Uganda to make it an attractive investment.
