Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Deputy Director of the Internal Security Organization -ISO Taban Amin has spent Friday Afternoon undergoing interrogation by officers of the Criminal Investigation Directorate at Kibuli in Kampala, who seek to understand his link to criminals who recently defrauded an American national Anastasios Belesis, of …
Read More »Gold surpass tourism, coffee as Uganda’s biggest foreign exchange earner
But the source of the precious commodity remains unknown Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Gold has surpassed tourism and coffee to become Uganda’s biggest earner of foreign currency amidst concerns over its source. Latest data from the central bank shows that the east African nation exported 35,943 kilograms of …
Read More »Gold price in Karamoja rises as water supply falls
Karamoja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The artisanal miners in Karamoja region have increased the price of gold three times than before due to shortage of water. URN learnt that in December 2020, the miners were selling a a gram was sold at 70,000 shillings are currently charging as much as …
Read More »South African police seize over 70 kg of smuggled gold
Johannesburg, South Africa | XINHUA | South African Police Service (SAPS) on Monday said they arrested three suspects who tried to smuggle gold weighing 73.5 kg worth R61 million (4.2 million U.S. dollars). The police said the trio were arrested with gold as well as foreign currency in their hand …
Read More »A tribute to a great friend, Ezra Bunyenyezi
THE LAST WORD | ANDREW MWENDA | And so it was that on the morning of December 24th, while going through Instagram, I saw a post on the wall of Lucy Bunyenyezi (Smize) announcing the death of her uncle Ezra Bunyenyezi. For a brief moment I lost my balance. …
Read More »Long wait for Buhweju miners as Mubende peers get licenses
Buhweju, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Small scale artisanal miners in Buhweju in Western Uganda are still chasing for permission to go back to their mines six years after they were evicted and a year since they last petitioned the government. In 2013, President Museveni directed that firms involved in gold …
Read More »Gold shoots to seven-year peak on weaker dollar
Just after 1230 GMT, gold rallied to $1,731.25 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, striking a peak last seen in November 2012. The dollar slid against main rivals Tuesday in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s ongoing stimulus policies that are aimed at cushioning the blow to the world’s …
Read More »Gold sparkles in COVID-19 shadow
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Gold, prized by investors in times of crisis as a safe haven, is experiencing surging demand in the face of the coronavirus outbreak — from both commodity traders and retail buyers. The precious metal had forged a seven-year peak on commodity markets this month as …
Read More »Gold miners face dangerous life in Nigeria’s ‘bandit’ country
Anka, Nigeria | AFP | From dawn, before the sun starts to sear the earth, Biltamnu Sani is already hard at work, pounding away at the dusty soil in his perilous quest for gold. The mineral-rich earth of Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, has provided generations of families with the means to …
Read More »Artisanal mining terrain promising but full of uncertainties
Mubende, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Although the terrain of Artisanal and Small Scale Mining-ASM in Uganda is promising with several developments and most remarkably the policy shift, several actors including miners and civil society organizations paint a faint picture for the future. A smile has returned on the face of …
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