In 2024, Uganda was estimated as the world’s sixth-ranked producer of pumice (including pumicite) and seventh-ranked producer of vermiculite, accounting for 4.1% and 5.1% of world production, respectively. Other mineral commodities produced included cement, clay (brick and kaolin), gold, iron ore, lead (refined, secondary), lime, salt, sand and gravel, steel, stone, and tungsten.
In fiscal year 2024 (which started on July 1, 2023, and ended on June 30, 2024), the manufacturing sector (which included cement, refined lead, and steel production) accounted for 15% of the gross domestic product, and the mining and quarrying sector (including hydrocarbons), 1.3%. The value of output in the mining and quarrying sector increased by 3.2% in fiscal year 2024 compared with 5.0% (revised) in fiscal year 2023. Gold remained Uganda’s leading export in 2024, representing 40% (\$4.20 billion) of the country’s \$10.6 billion total export revenue. The legislative framework for the mineral sector is provided by the Mining and Minerals Act, 2022. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, alongside the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines, oversees the mineral sector in Uganda. Most of the mining and mineral-processing operations were privately owned, with artisanal mining constituting a substantial segment.
