The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has tightened control over Uganda’s gold trade, unfolding against a backdrop of record-breaking export earnings, a planned entry of the central bank into domestic gold buying, and persistent concerns over transparency and conflict-linked supply chains.
The Energy Ministry today issued a detailed public notice restricting gold trade to licensed players.
Under the new directive, trading in gold may only take place between holders of valid mineral dealers’ licences for precious metals, gold mining licences, or refining licences, as provided for under the Mining and Minerals Act, 2022.
The notice, issued through the Ministry’s Mines Department, lays out step-by-step procedures governing gold transactions, from registration and licensing to export and import requirements.
All prospective gold traders must first register on the Mining Cadastre and Registry System (MCRS), the government’s electronic portal that manages mineral rights and licences.
To qualify, individuals must present national identification or passports and tax identification numbers, while companies are required to submit incorporation documents, memorandum and articles of association, and board resolutions authorising portal use.
Applicants seeking to trade in gold must then apply for a Mineral Dealer’s Licence.
This attracts an application fee of UGX500,000 and an annual licence fee of UGX10 million for precious metals, with licences expiring every December 31.
Dealers are also required to demonstrate financial capacity, technical competence and tax compliance.
For actual transactions, the Ministry requires buyers to ensure that sellers are duly licensed, verify the authenticity and source of gold, and maintain proof of purchase for compliance.
Export permits are granted per consignment and only upon proof that gold has been refined to a minimum purity of 99.9 percent, supported by certificates of origin, analysis, and payment of statutory fees through the Uganda Revenue Authority.
Similar documentation applies to imports, including proof of royalties paid in the country of origin.
A sector awash with cash
The enforcement drive comes as Uganda’s gold sector posts its strongest performance on record.
Between November 2024 and October 2025, gold exports earned the country UGX19.7 trillion (about USD 5.51 billion). This performance firmly entrenched gold as Uganda’s single largest source of foreign exchange.
The most striking feature of the data is the surge recorded in October 2025 alone, when gold exports were valued at USD965 million, equivalent to about UGX3.44 trillion.
This was the highest monthly export figure in the 12-month period with nearly one-fifth of annual gold earnings generated in just that single month.
The boom has been driven largely by Uganda’s growing role as a regional refining and trading hub.
Significant volumes of raw gold are bought locally or imported, refined, and re-exported to international markets, generating large foreign currency inflows that have helped stabilise the shilling, bolster reserves and expand fiscal space for government..
The central bank steps in
Against this backdrop, the Bank of Uganda is preparing to play a direct role in the gold economy.
Nearly a year after unveiling its domestic gold purchase programme in 2024, the central bank confirmed it is ready to begin buying gold.
“We will soon begin buying gold,” Bank of Uganda Governor Michael Atingi-Ego told CEO East Africa Magazine on the sidelines of the Annual Bankers Conference held at Kampala Serena Hotel Conference Centre in July.
While the Governor did not outline operational details, the statement signals the long-awaited implementation of a policy that has drawn keen interest from miners, civil society and policymakers.
The announcement coincided with renewed momentum in mineral beneficiation.
In the same month of July, Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa launched Euro Gold Refinery (U) SMC Ltd in Kampala, one of only three licensed gold refineries in Uganda designed to handle high-purity refining.
“As a country, we are ready for responsible mineral beneficiation,” Nankabirwa said. “With refineries like Euro Gold Refinery, it reaffirms our commitment to transparency, industrialisation, and attracting credible investors for sustainable growth in our mining industry.”
Why the Bank of Uganda wants gold
The Bank of Uganda’s gold purchase programme was first outlined in its State of the Economy report for the three months to May 2024.
Ruparelia Group Wins Key Entebbe Land Case, Clearing Path for the New Mega Speke Resort and Convention Centre, EntebbeThe programme aims to strengthen foreign reserves while minimising risks associated with holding reserves solely in international financial markets.
By August 2024, the Bank had developed an operational framework detailing pricing, compliance and supplier requirements.
It also conducted field visits to mining districts including Buhweju, Kassanda/Mubende and Busia, holding workshops with miners to explain how the programme would work.
In a statement emailed to CEO East Africa last year, the Bank said it was pre-qualifying suppliers and finalising internal arrangements to start purchases.
Governor Atingi-Ego later elaborated in a July BBC interview, citing mounting economic shocks.
“Some of these shocks have resulted in the dwindling of our reserves because there has been a light build-up of external debt servicing, the rise in imports of goods and services, a sustained drop in capital flows, and significant pressures on the exchange rate,” he said.
Under the programme, gold prices will be determined using reputable international benchmarks such as the Bloomberg Composite Gold Index, adjusted for purity and delivery timing, and paid in Uganda Shillings. Suppliers will be required to notify the Bank in advance of quantities to be delivered.
The programme also aligns with government’s mineral value addition and import substitution strategies by reducing reliance on imported raw gold, while directly supporting artisanal and small-scale miners.
A fragmented and risky trade
Despite its headline earnings, Uganda’s gold trade has long been characterised by fragmentation and opacity.
Artisanal and small-scale miners operate at one end of the chain, while exporters and refiners dominate the other.
In between is a network of middlemen who depress prices at the mine gate, evade taxes, and in some cases facilitate smuggling.
Uganda’s proximity to conflict-affected gold-producing regions of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has compounded the challenge.
A letter dated 31 May 2024 from the UN Group of Experts on the DRC to the President of the UN Security Council highlighted how weak border controls between Uganda and the DRC facilitate gold trafficking.
According to the UN report, DRC security services reported that hundreds of trafficking routes linking Mahagi territory to Uganda lie outside effective state control. Several sources confirmed using these routes to sell gold to traders based in Paidha town in Uganda’s West Nile sub-region.
More alarmingly, several sources told the UN that most Kampala-based gold actors knowingly purchased gold smuggled from the DRC. These concerns have exposed Uganda to reputational risk in global markets.
A decade of boom, bust and rebound
Uganda’s current gold moment sits atop a decade-long story of dramatic swings.
In the five years to June 2014, gold earnings averaged just USD 4.7 million annually, according to Bank of Uganda data. But in the 2015/16 financial year, exports surged to USD204 million, with volumes rising to 5,423 kilogrammes.
The momentum continued into 2016/17, when volumes more than doubled to 11,038 kilogrammes, generating USD433 million. The growth reflected increased refining capacity and liberalised trade that drew regional gold flows through Uganda.
There was a slight dip in 2017/18, with exports falling to 8,553 kilogrammes and earnings declining to USD343 million.
But the rebound was swift. In 2018/19, volumes surged to 26,711 kilogrammes, pushing earnings to USD1.07 billion. For the first time, gold overtook coffee and fish as Uganda’s top export.
In 2019/20, earnings rose to USD1.12 billion on volumes of 21,746 kilogrammes. Then came the Covid-19 boom. As global investors rushed to safe-haven assets, Uganda exported 43,009 kilogrammes, earning USD2.25 billion in 2020/21.
It was one of the sharpest jumps in export performance in recent history.
But the following year brought a shock. In 2021/22, gold exports collapsed to zero, after regulatory disputes and new taxes with 5 percent on refined gold and 10 percent on unrefined exports prompted traders to halt shipments.
Exports resumed in 2022/23, with 19,903 kilogrammes worth USD1.07 billion, before surging again in 2023/24 to 48,620 kilogrammes and USD2.98 billion. The momentum continued into 2024/25, when gold earnings peaked at USD4.21 billion on volumes of 49,085 kilogrammes.
The trend has since held.
