East Africa · Thursday, 27 August 2026
Investigation
Lead Story

What a hectare is worth: the compensation gap behind East Africa’s mining disputes

A review of resettlement records across three countries finds valuations diverging by an order of magnitude — and grievance processes that rarely close.

By Amina Nyaruai|August 5, 2026|11 min read
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Latest Dispatches

From the mines & the ministries

MarketsJuly 29, 2026

Power, not ore, is now the binding constraint on East African mine economics

Operators across four countries are turning to solar-diesel hybrids and private transmission as grid tariffs and reliability push processing costs above budget.

By Wanjiku Mburu · 8 min read
NewsJuly 22, 2026

Kabanga nickel clears its financing hurdle as offtake terms are agreed

Tanzania’s flagship battery-metals project has secured the commitments it needs for a construction decision, ending three years of stop-start progress.

By Fatuma Njoroge · 7 min read
MarketsJuly 15, 2026

A single customs window at Malaba is quietly reshaping the region’s mineral transit trade

Harmonised declarations have cut transit times on the Northern Corridor. Traders say the same system is making undeclared tonnage far harder to move.

By Kelvin Ochieng · 8 min read
NewsJuly 8, 2026

Tanzania greenlights lithium brine drilling on the shores of Lake Natron

A consortium of Australian and Emirati backers has secured a two-year exploration permit for what could become East Africa’s first commercial lithium operation.

By Fatuma Njoroge · 8 min read
MarketsJuly 2, 2026

Rwanda’s coltan exporters race to meet new EU battery-passport rules

From August, tantalum shipments into the European Union must carry a full digital chain-of-custody. Kigali’s refiners say they are ready. Their upstream suppliers are less certain.

By Jean-Paul Habimana · 9 min read
PolicyJune 26, 2026

Kenya opens public consultation on sweeping mineral royalty overhaul

A draft policy circulated by the Ministry of Mining would tie royalty rates to global commodity prices and earmark a third of receipts for county governments.

By Wanjiku Mburu · 7 min read
NewsJune 18, 2026

Burundi’s Gakara rare-earth project posts sharply upgraded resource estimate

New drilling has more than doubled the measured and indicated tonnage at one of Africa’s few advanced rare-earth prospects, raising the odds of a 2028 restart.

By Aline Nkurunziza · 6 min read
PolicyJune 11, 2026

Uganda’s push to license 200,000 artisanal miners meets its hardest test in the field

A year into the formalisation drive, registration is running well behind target — and the miners who have signed up say the promised benefits have yet to arrive.

By Brian Ssekandi · 9 min read
TechnologyJune 5, 2026

Digital traceability gains attention as Uganda strengthens gold sector oversight

Growing scrutiny of the gold industry is increasing interest in digital traceability systems, supply chain transparency, and technology-driven compliance solutions.

By Amina Nyaruai · 7 min
InvestigationJune 2, 2026

Uganda intensifies scrutiny of gold sector amid fraud allegations and export compliance concerns

Multiple government agencies are reviewing gold trading companies as regulatory pressure mounts on the country’s rapidly expanding refining sector.

By Kelvin Ochieng · 12 min read
InvestigationMay 24, 2026

Inside the Karamoja gold rush: a quiet boom is reshaping Uganda’s north

Artisanal miners, foreign concessionaires, and a regulator playing catch-up. A six-month investigation into the licences, the money, and the people left behind.

By Acen Lamwaka · 14 min read
MarketsMay 22, 2026

Gold tops Uganda’s export ledger again as Q1 figures land

Bank of Uganda data shows refined gold accounted for 38% of merchandise exports in the first quarter.

By Brian Ssebuufu · 6 min
NewsMay 19, 2026

Kilembe copper restart edges closer after cabinet approval

A long-stalled concession returns to the table with a new operator and a 25-year horizon.

By Patience Nabukenya · 8 min
PolicyMay 16, 2026

Cobalt traceability pilot launches in the Albertine corridor

Regulators trial blockchain-based provenance as EU buyers tighten supply-chain rules.

By Joseph Otim · 7 min
DiscoveryMay 12, 2026

A surprise emerald find in Mubende draws international interest

Early assays from a small-scale cooperative could redraw East Africa’s gemstone map.

By Sarah Nakimuli · 5 min
PolicyMay 9, 2026

What the 2026 Mining Act amendments actually change

A plain-English read of royalties, local content, and the new community development agreements.

By David Mugisha · 10 min
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