Mubende and Kassanda are the clearest example of exploration licences being granted over ground with established artisanal populations. Evictions there — most notoriously the 2017 clearance at Kitumbi — remain the reference case for how licence allocation can displace tens of thousands of people without a workable resettlement plan.

Published drill results, a defined resource under a recognised reporting code, and an agreed coexistence arrangement with artisanal holders on the same licence. Most Ugandan gold exploration licences currently satisfy none of the three.

The active gold exploration ground clusters in the Mubende–Kassanda greenstones, the Buhweju plateau and the Namayingo–Busia belt near the Kenyan border. All three host long-established artisanal workings, so almost every licence is granted over ground already being mined by someone.

Holdings turn over frequently as licences lapse, are transferred or are quietly warehoused pending a better gold price, which makes the cadastre rather than company announcements the only reliable record.

The 2017 evictions in Mubende, where tens of thousands of artisanal miners were cleared from ground later held under exploration title, remain the reference case for how badly this can go. Compensation was contested, and much of the displaced workforce simply moved to neighbouring parishes.

The Bulletin's test for any exploration holder is whether it has negotiated with artisanal groups on the licence or is relying on the state to remove them.