M
MineralIQ
UGANDA MIN
FIND
⌘ K
D
Demo User
Mineral
All
Gold
Cu/Co
REE
Iron
3T
Period
FY 2024/25
FY 2023/24
5-yr
Status
Active
Pending
Dormant
PSA
Region
All Uganda
Central
Western
Eastern
Northern
District
All
Busia
Mubende
Kassanda
Kasese
Buhweju
Tororo
Mayuge
Moroto
Kabale
Manafwa
Modules
Geographic Intelligence
Map & Cadastre
Concession boundaries, holders, status
Satellite Detection
NDVI change, boundary breaches
Regulator Tools
Compliance 3
Hg, EIA, dormancy, forest loss
Royalty & EITI
Revenue tracking, leakage detection
Production Returns
Monthly filings from miners
Deal Flow
PSAs & Tenders
Open blocks, bidder rooms
Investor Portal
Public-facing block library
NMC Holdings
State 15% positions, dividends
Sector Programs
ASM Formalisation
Cooperative onboarding, Hg phase-out
Equipment Share
Marketplace for idle gear
Decision Support
Cabinet Brief
Monday 06:00 EAT, AI-generated
Data Sources
Public datasets & insights they unlock
SELSelection
Click a site
Select a mineral site
Click any concession on the map to see full data — holder, reserves, capacity, royalty, EITI compliance, satellite history.
Select a mineral site
Click any concession on the map to see full data — holder, reserves, capacity, royalty, EITI compliance, satellite history.
LLayers
Boundaries
Regions (4)
Districts (135)
Mineral 7
Gold (Au)
Copper · Cobalt
REE / 3T
Phosphate
Iron Ore
Limestone
Vermiculite
Intelligence
Illegal Mining
Prospectivity
ASM Hotspots
Mercury / Hg risk
Module · Revenue Intelligence
Find the leaks. Plug them.
Cross-references declared production with satellite-estimated extraction, export manifests, and EITI filings to surface revenue at risk.
Mining GDP FY23/24
2.2%
▲ from 0.3% in FY09/10
Royalty est. FY24/25
$48.2M
▲ Wagagai live
Leakage est.
$11.3M
⚠ Busia ASM cluster
EITI compliance
PARTIAL
▼ First report 2022 flagged gaps
Royalty collections — last 12 months
MayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarApr
Top contributing licences
| Code | Holder | FY $ |
|---|---|---|
| ML-WAG | Wagagai Mining | $8.4M |
| ML-2511 | Tororo Cement | $5.4M |
| ML-HIM | Hima Cement | $4.8M |
| ML-2204 | Mubende district | $2.4M |
| ML-SUK | Sukulu Industries | $1.9M |
EITI Uganda · 2019/20 reconciliation snapshot
| Stream | Govt receipts | Co. payments | Variance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral royalties | UGX 28.4 bn | UGX 27.9 bn | 0.5 bn (1.7%) | RECONCILED |
| Annual ground rent | UGX 4.2 bn | UGX 3.6 bn | 0.6 bn (16.7%) | VARIANCE |
| Application & renewal fees | UGX 1.8 bn | UGX 1.7 bn | 0.1 bn | RECONCILED |
| Corporate income tax (mining) | UGX 14.6 bn | — | — | UNDISCLOSED |
| Withholding tax | UGX 6.3 bn | UGX 4.1 bn | 2.2 bn (35%) | MAJOR GAP |
Source: EITI Uganda 2019/20 Reconciliation Report · NRGI 2025 Uganda assessment · Wikipedia.
Module · Mineral Production Sharing Agreements
The new deal-flow of Uganda mining.
Track active, signed and pipeline PSAs. Manage tender rooms, bidder due diligence, fiscal terms, Cabinet approvals.
Active PSA
1
▲ Kilembe — Mar 2025
Live tenders
3
○ Karamoja Li / Au / Cu
Pipeline
7
○ Post-€20M survey
NMC max stake
15%
▲ Per 2022 Mining Act
PSA-2025-01 · KASESESIGNED
Kilembe Cu-Co Redevelopment
Uganda's first ever Mineral Production Sharing Agreement. Sarrai Group + Nile Fibreboard awarded; signed by Min. Nankabirwa March 2025.
Reserves
4 Mt
Cu / Co
1.98% / 0.17%
Bidders
4 → 1
Status
Dewatering
Bidders shortlist: Sarrai Group ✓ · Sinomine Power · Liaoning Hongda · Gingko Energy
TND-2026-01 · KARAMOJAOPEN
Karamoja Block K-7 · Lithium
Pegmatite-hosted Li target identified by €20M Spain-funded survey (Sept 2025). First Uganda Li tender.
Block area
118 km²
Type
EL → ML
Bid close
12 Jun 26
Reserve floor
$1.2M
3 EOIs received · Albemarle · Tibet-Hima · undisclosed
TND-2026-02 · ZOMBOOPEN
Zombo Greenfield Gold
New gold target announced by Min. Nankabirwa (Feb 2023). Adjacent to DRC Kilo-Moto belt extension.
Block area
62 km²
Type
EL
Bid close
28 Jul 26
Reserve floor
$650K
EOI window: open until 15 Jun 26
TND-2026-03 · NORTHERN UGPRE-FEASIBILITY
Aswa Belt Shear-Hosted Gold
Kitgum-Lamwo emerging gold zone; geology similar to South Sudan greenstone belts.
Block area
~140 km²
Type
PL / EL
Bid close
Q4 2026
Stage
Survey
Pre-feasibility: awaiting €20M survey results
Module · Compliance Centre
What needs your attention today.
Single dashboard for boundary breaches, mercury contamination, forest loss, dormancy and EIA renewals.
Critical alerts
3
▼ 1 since yesterday
High alerts
8
⚠ EIA renewals
Inspections this wk
12
▲ 4 dispatched
Hg-risk ASM sites
80%+
▼ World Bank 2022
District compliance heatmap
Per-district score by compliance dimension. Click any cell to drill in.
EIA
Hg
Forest
Royalty
Bound.
Reports
ASM
Overall
Busia
68
42
88
92
71
85
38
69
Mubende
62
58
72
81
48
79
44
63
Buhweju
44
36
68
72
66
71
35
56
Kasese
82
78
61
86
88
82
68
78
Karamoja
58
48
85
64
70
62
42
61
Tororo
88
84
90
93
91
89
82
88
Mayuge
70
80
75
85
82
81
70
78
Kabale
66
62
70
74
68
72
52
66
Active critical alerts
Boundary breach · ML-2204 Mubende
4.2 ha disturbance 800m east of concession. NDVI −0.34 over 12 days.
Mercury spike · Mayanja River, Buhweju
Hg 14× WHO threshold downstream of artisanal cluster.
61 ha cleared · Rwenzori buffer
Forest loss inside Kasese protected-area buffer.
Compliance dimensions
Mercury / Minamata Convention38%
EIA renewals on time71%
Royalty filings on time88%
Production reports submitted82%
Boundary integrity (sat.)79%
Dormancy under 12m88%
EITI revenue disclosure62%
Invest in Uganda's mining renaissance.
Mining contributed 2.2% to GDP in FY 2022/23, up from 0.3% a decade earlier — and is targeted to exceed 7%. With Wagagai gold mine commissioned in August 2025, the Kilembe Cu-Co PSA signed, and a €20M aerial geophysical survey unveiled, Uganda is open for serious mineral investment.
27 commercially viable minerals
31 Mt gold ore reserves (national est.)
260+ Mt iron ore (Muko + Sukulu)
Makuutu rare earths · 21-yr ML
NMC max stake: 15%
Open blocks
3
Karamoja Li / Zombo Au / Aswa
Pipeline post-survey
7
▲ €20M aerial geophys
Royalty rate Au
5.0%
○ Standard
Free-port zones
Yes
▲ Wagagai exempt
Fiscal terms calculator
Estimate royalty + tax burden on a Uganda gold project. Defaults shown for a Wagagai-class operation.
Gross revenue$96.0 M
Royalty (5%)$4.80 M
Operating cost (55%)$52.8 M
Pre-tax profit$38.4 M
Corporate tax (30%)$11.5 M
NMC dividend (15%)$4.04 M
Investor net$22.85 M
Open & upcoming blocks
| Block | Mineral | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Karamoja K-7 | Lithium | OPEN · 12 Jun |
| Zombo | Gold | OPEN · 28 Jul |
| Aswa belt | Gold | PRE-FEAS |
| Mubende infill | Gold | PIPELINE |
| Karamoja Au-2 | Gold | PIPELINE |
| Sukulu West | REE / P | PIPELINE |
Module · Artisanal & Small-Scale Mining
The 90% nobody is tracking.
ASM contributes over 90% of Uganda's gold production. This module formalises cooperatives, GPS-pins their sites, KYCs members, and routes them to licensed refineries.
Cooperatives onboarded
14
▲ 4 this quarter
Miners registered
2,140
▲ 312 MoM
Hg-free sites
19%
↑ from 8%
Au routed to Wagagai
84kg
▲ FY24 cumulative
Tira Co-op Society
Busia · 412 miners
Sites
8 GPS
Au/mo
3.2 kg
Hg-free
62%
Refinery: Wagagai★ 4.6
Mercury phase-out82%
Buhweju Mashonga Co-op
Buhweju · 286 miners
Sites
5 GPS
Au/mo
1.8 kg
Hg-free
28%
Refinery: Wagagai (interim)★ 4.1
Mercury phase-out48%
Mubende Kassanda ASM
Kassanda · Lujinji · 524 miners
Sites
11 GPS
Au/mo
2.4 kg
Hg-free
14%
Refinery: negotiating★ —
KYC complete64%
Karamoja Moroto ASM
Moroto · 188 miners
Sites
6 GPS
Au/mo
1.1 kg
Hg-free
8%
Refinery: —★ —
Onboarding32%
Kigezi Kanungu Co-op
Kanungu · 174 miners
Sites
4 GPS
Au/mo
0.9 kg
Hg-free
42%
Refinery: Wagagai★ 3.8
Compliance score74%
Bugiri Iganga ASM
Bugiri · 312 miners
Sites
3 EST.
Au/mo
~1.5 kg
Hg-free
~5%
Refinery: informal★ —
Outreach started8%
Module · Satellite Change Detection
Six months of truth, every concession.
Sentinel-2 NDVI on every active licence with 5-day revisit. Auto-flags boundary breaches, tailings expansion, new haul roads, forest loss inside protected-area buffers.
Concessions monitored
147
▲ Sentinel-2 · 5-day revisit
Changes detected · 30d
23
⚠ 3 critical
Forest loss flagged
61 ha
▼ Rwenzori buffer
Avg detection lag
14d
▲ vs ground inspection
● ACTIVE CASE · ML-2204 · MUBENDE
Boundary breach detection
Kilkenny Mining (ML-2204, Mubende district). 4.2 ha disturbance detected 800m east of the licensed concession boundary. NDVI trajectory dropped −0.34 over a 12-day window. Compliance score fell 81 → 68.
CRITICAL
2H AGO
Licensed boundary
NDVI anomaly (early)
Confirmed disturbance
New haul road
NDVI · 6-month trajectory · ML-2204
Vegetation index — disturbance detected last 12 days
HEALTHY ≥0.5
DISTURBED 0.3–0.5
BARE <0.3
Recent change detections · last 30 days
| Date | Concession | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Apr | ML-2204 Mubende Kilkenny Mining |
Boundary breach | CRIT |
| 25 Apr | EL-3318 Rwenzori Glencore Exploration |
61 ha forest loss | CRIT |
| 23 Apr | Buhweju ASM cluster Multiple unlicensed |
Cluster expansion | CRIT |
| 21 Apr | Sukulu ML Sukulu Industries |
Tailings +3.1 ha | HIGH |
| 19 Apr | Kassanda ML Lujinji licensee |
New haul road | HIGH |
| 17 Apr | Wagagai ML Wagagai Mining |
Pit deepening | INFO |
| 14 Apr | Tira ASM Tira Co-op |
NDVI recovery | GOOD |
| 11 Apr | Hima ML Hima Cement |
Quarry advance | INFO |
Detection pipeline · this week
Sentinel-2 frames ingested847
94% scene coverage · 12 cloud-rejected
Sentinel-1 SAR (cloud-pierce)312
Critical for rainy-season continuity
Concessions auto-scored147 / 147
AI-flagged anomalies31
3 critical · 8 high · 20 info
Inspector dispatch turnaround2.4 days
▼ from 14 days pre-platform
Forest loss inside buffers61 ha
Rwenzori EL-3318 — pending NEMA
DATA SOURCES
Sentinel-2 (10m, 5-day) · Sentinel-1 SAR (all-weather) · Hansen Forest Loss · JRC Surface Water · processed via Google Earth Engine. PlanetScope (3m daily) reserved for confirmed-incident evidence packs.
Module · Production Returns
File once. Stay compliant.
Mining companies file monthly returns directly. The platform auto-computes royalty against LBMA spot, cross-checks declared tonnage against satellite-estimated extraction, and flags variances against URA export manifests.
Filings due Apr 2026
12
▲ 9 received
On-time filing rate
82%
▲ from 64% pre-platform
Royalty assessed Apr
$4.8M
▲ Wagagai dominant
Variance flags
3
⚠ Sukulu, Mubende, Buhweju
Filing status · April 2026
Filed
Variance
Overdue
Pending
| Licence | Holder | Mineral | Tonnes declared | Royalty due | Sat. cross-check | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ML-WAG | Wagagai Mining Liaoning Hongda |
Au · refined | 105.2 kg | $0.42M | +1.8% | FILED · 14 Apr | |
| ML-2511 | Tororo Cement | Limestone | 48,200 t | $0.45M | +0.6% | FILED · 09 Apr | |
| ML-HIM | Hima Cement Bharti Enterprises |
Limestone | 41,800 t | $0.39M | −1.2% | FILED · 11 Apr | |
| ML-SUK | Sukulu Industries Guangzhou Dongsong |
Phosphate | 18,400 t | $0.16M | +12.4% | VARIANCE · 12 Apr | |
| ML-MAK | IonicRE Makuutu | REE carbonate | 0 t | $0 | n/a | PRE-PROD | |
| ML-2204 | Kilkenny Mining Mubende |
Au · semi-refined | 3.8 kg | $0.015M | −34% | VARIANCE · 18 Apr | |
| ML-BUH | Buhweju Mining Coop | Au · ASM | 1.2 kg | $0.005M | −42% | VARIANCE · 17 Apr | |
| ML-NMK | Namekhara Vermiculite | Vermiculite | — | — | — | OVERDUE · 8d | |
| ML-MUK | Muko Iron Ore | Iron ore | — | — | — | OVERDUE · 4d | |
| PSA-25-01 | Kilembe Mines Sarrai + Nile Fibreboard |
Cu/Co · PSA | — | — | — | DEWATERING |
● ACTIVE FILING · ML-WAG · APRIL 2026
Wagagai Mining · Monthly Production Return
Submitted 14 Apr 2026 by E. Mukasa (Production Manager). Auto-validated against LBMA, Sentinel-2 NDVI, and URA export manifest.
Declared production
Operational metrics
Auto-computed royalty
Au refined105.2 kg
LBMA spot · 14 Apr 2026$2,498/oz
Gross revenue$8.45 M
Royalty rate (Au, refined)5.0%
Royalty payable$422,500
Cross-check vs public signals
Sentinel-2 disturbed area
+1.8% MATCH
Estimated extraction from NDVI: 150,600 t. Declared: 148,000 t.
URA export manifest
100% MATCH
Entebbe export Apr 18: 105.2 kg refined Au · KE-bound. Reconciles.
VIIRS night-light signature
29/29 NIGHTS
Operating signature consistent with declared 29 op days.
Bank of Uganda forex receipts
$8.41 M
BoU recorded $8.41M USD inflow attributed to Wagagai. Δ −0.5%.
Variance flags · need action
Kilkenny Mining declared 3.8 kg Au · satellite suggests ~5.7 kg
NDVI-estimated extraction 34% above declared volume. Combined with the active boundary breach alert on the same licence, this points to under-reporting from off-tenement extraction.
Sukulu phosphate — declared 18,400 t · sat estimate 20,700 t (+12%)
Within tolerance band but trending upward for 3 consecutive months. Recommend grade re-sampling vs declared P₂O₅ percentage.
Buhweju Coop declared 1.2 kg · ASM cluster footprint suggests 2.1 kg
Coop filing only captures formalised members. Informal operators in same cluster contributing untracked volume. Tira Co-op formalisation model recommended.
Audit trail · last 7 days
26 APR
System auto-flagged Mubende ML-2204 for variance review · linked to Compliance breach #847
25 APR
URA · J.Akello reconciled Wagagai $0.42M royalty receipt · variance −0.5%
24 APR
DGSM · M.Lwanga dispatched inspector to Buhweju re: variance flag #BUH-04
22 APR
Wagagai · E.Mukasa filed amended Mar 2026 return (recovery 87.9% → 88.2%) · accepted
21 APR
Sukulu · K.Wang uploaded supporting assay reports for Apr filing
19 APR
System sent overdue reminder to Namekhara Vermiculite + Muko Iron Ore
14 APR
Wagagai · E.Mukasa submitted Apr 2026 production return · auto-validated
Royalty assessment trend · last 12 filings
Aggregate royalty payable across all licensed operators. Wagagai commissioning (16 Aug 2025) is the inflection point.
MayJunJulAug ★SepOctNovDecJanFebMarApr
Module · National Mining Company Holdings
Where Uganda owns 15%.
Established under the 2022 Mining & Minerals Act, modeled on UNOC.
In development
NMC portfolio dashboard
Holdings in Kilembe (PSA), Wagagai (potential), Makuutu (REE).
Module · Equipment Sharing
Don't buy it. Borrow it.
Idle excavators, drill rigs, crushers and lab kit listed for hire.
In development
Equipment marketplace
347 pieces of equipment listed. DGSM lists its own analytical equipment for co-op use.
Module · Cabinet Brief
Cabinet-ready. Every Monday 06:00 EAT.
One-page synthesis of the week's compliance, revenue, alerts and tender activity.
CABINET BRIEF · MON 27 APR 2026 · 06:00 EAT
This week, three things deserve attention.
1. Mubende boundary breach (ML-2204, Kilkenny Mining) is now the second incident in 90 days. Compliance dropped 81 → 68. Section 47 notice recommended.
2. Karamoja Block K-7 lithium prospectivity now rated HIGH. Tender release 12 Jun with reserve floor $1.2M.
3. Royalty leakage estimate $1.7M this month, concentrated in Busia ASM cluster. Recommend formalisation push via Tira Co-op model.
Module · Data Sources & Intelligence Map
The intelligence isn't new data. It's the fusion.
Every dataset MineralIQ uses is publicly available. Most are free. The platform's job is joining them into decisions today's Ministry can't make. Here is what powers each insight, where it comes from, what it costs, and what it unlocks.
Sources tracked
22
15 free · 7 paid
Live feeds
9
Sentinel, LBMA, Open-Meteo +
Partial / scraping
5
DGSM, EITI, URA
Coming soon
8
€20M survey, NEMA EIA
Insights unlocked
40+
across 11 modules
Filter
All sources
Satellite
Government
Geological
Financial
Environmental
NGO & Research
Free only
Live only
Satellite & Earth Observation
Sentinel-2 Optical
European Space Agency · Copernicus
● LIVE
FREE
10-meter resolution multispectral imagery. 5-day revisit over Uganda. Visible, NIR, SWIR bands enable NDVI, water indices, mineral mapping. Accessed via Google Earth Engine + Copernicus Open Hub.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Boundary breach detection — disturbance outside concession lines (Mubende ML-2204 case)
- Mine footprint over time — extraction area proxy vs declared production
- Tailings pond expansion — bright reflective patches tracked monthly
- New haul roads — first sign of illegal mining before pits show
- ASM cluster classification — small-pit vs industrial signature
Sentinel-1 Radar (SAR)
European Space Agency · Copernicus
● LIVE
FREE
C-band synthetic aperture radar. Sees through cloud cover — critical for Uganda where 60-70% of days are cloudy. InSAR detects ground movement of millimetres.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Subsidence detection — old workings, Kilembe flood watch
- Slope stability — open-pit wall deformation
- Tailings dam deformation — pre-failure warning (Brumadinho-style)
- All-weather monitoring — rainy-season operational continuity
PlanetScope
Planet Labs · 3-meter resolution
PARTIAL
PAID TIER
3m resolution daily revisit. Where Sentinel-2 ends (10m, 5-day), PlanetScope picks up. Used for high-stakes incident verification — boundary breach legal cases, tailings dam crisis response.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Daily change detection — for active alerts requiring evidence
- Fine-grained ASM site mapping — individual pit identification
- Inspector pre-deployment — see the site before driving 4 hours
VIIRS Night Lights
NASA · NOAA
● LIVE
FREE
Daily night-time radiance at 750m. Active mines run 24/7 — bright pixels at night verify operational status. Dark pixels on a "producing" concession = misreporting or dormancy.
Powers in MineralIQ
- "Ghost mine" detection — declares production, no night signature
- Operational status verification — cross-check vs filed shifts
- Wagagai 24/7 baseline — establish what active looks like
Hansen / Global Forest Watch
UMD · WRI · 30m annual
● LIVE
FREE
Annual forest cover loss tiles since 2000, plus near-real-time GLAD alerts. Cross-references concession boundaries with protected-area buffers and reserves.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Forest loss inside concessions — Glencore EL-3318 / Rwenzori 61 ha case
- Deforestation rate by holder — ranks bad actors quantitatively
- Buffer-zone overlap alerts — protected area incursion
JRC Surface Water Explorer
European Commission JRC
● LIVE
FREE
Global surface water dynamics from Landsat. Detects new water bodies (mining ponds), seasonal water, turbidity proxies via red-band reflectance.
Powers in MineralIQ
- New mining ponds — appear without EIA permits
- Turbidity downstream of mines — sediment runoff (Mayanja River)
- Mercury hotspot proxy — turbidity signals ASM amalgamation
Uganda Government Sources
DGSM Mining Cadastre
Trimble Landfolio · dgsmportal.minerals.go.ug
PARTIAL
FREE
Public licence polygons, holders, status, dates. Currently scraped — live API integration pending DGSM partnership. The foundation MineralIQ adds intelligence on top of.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Concession boundaries — every polygon on the map
- Holder concentration — beneficial-owner network mapping
- Renewal cliff timeline — which 18 months are revenue risk
- Dormancy candidates — Section 47 revocation pipeline
EITI Uganda Reports
EITI Uganda · MoFPED
PARTIAL
FREE
2019/20 fiscal year reconciliation report. Uganda's first EITI report flagged partial compliance — only some companies disclosed revenue. Royalty, ground rent, fees, CIT, withholding tax streams.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Royalty leakage triangulation — declared vs reconciled
- UGX 2.2bn withholding tax variance — visible gap
- UGX 14.6bn corporate tax undisclosed — drives audit priority
- Holder transparency score — who reconciles, who doesn't
URA Customs & Export
Uganda Revenue Authority
COMING SOON
MoU REQUIRED
Export manifests showing tonnage by mineral leaving Uganda. The third leg of the smuggling-gap triangle: declared production vs URA exports vs Bank of Uganda receipts.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Smuggling-gap detection — exports >> declared production
- Transfer-pricing flags — declared grade vs export tonnage
- FX-earnings reconciliation — vs Bank of Uganda receipts
€20M Aerial Geophysical Survey
DGSM · Spain-funded · Sept 2025
COMING SOON
FREE post-release
High-resolution airborne magnetic + radiometric data covering Karamoja and Northern Uganda. Unveiled by Min. Nankabirwa Sept 2025. New baseline for prospectivity.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Karamoja K-7 lithium prospectivity — drives Q2 tender release
- Aswa Belt gold targets — new exploration pipeline
- Underexplored zones map — investor blocks library
NEMA Environmental Filings
National Environment Management Authority
COMING SOON
MoU REQUIRED
EIA approvals, renewal calendar, environmental compliance certificates. Cross-references mining concessions with environmental obligations.
Powers in MineralIQ
- EIA renewal calendar — 71% on-time rate currently
- Forest-clearance overlap — vs Hansen forest loss
- Tailings pond approvals — vs satellite-detected ponds
Bank of Uganda · Trade Statistics
Central Bank of Uganda
● LIVE
FREE
Monthly export receipts by commodity. Critical for the smuggling-gap analysis: BoU records the dollar inflows from mineral exports.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Forex earnings vs production — third leg of triangle
- Wagagai $100M/yr forex projection — track actuals
- Resource-curse early warning — UGX-Au correlation
Geological & Academic Research
Lehmann et al. Goldfield Typology
Australian Journal of Earth Sciences
● LIVE
FREE
Peer-reviewed classification of Uganda gold districts: Busia (Neoarchean greenstone), Mubende (Paleoproterozoic Rwenzori fold belt), Buhweju-Mashonga, Karamoja (Mozambique fold belt).
Powers in MineralIQ
- Geological context for every gold mine on the platform
- Prospectivity boundaries — heat zones on the map
- Investor due-diligence layer — credible scientific basis
UNDP Mineral Appraisal 1992-96
UNDP · korcham.net summary
● LIVE
FREE
Foundational mineral occurrence catalogue. Source for Nyamuliro tungsten (Kabale), Wampewo tantalite (Wakiso), Namekhara vermiculite (Manafwa), Tira gold reaffirmation.
Powers in MineralIQ
- 3T (Sn-W-Ta) belt boundaries — SW Uganda
- Industrial mineral occurrences — vermiculite, phosphate
- Brownfield restart candidates — known but underdeveloped
USGS Mineral Resources
United States Geological Survey
● LIVE
FREE
Annual Minerals Yearbook (Uganda chapter), commodity summaries, world reserves. Independent benchmark when Ugandan figures are disputed.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Reserve cross-checks — Uganda's 31 Mt gold est.
- Peer-country benchmarking — vs Tanzania, DRC, Kenya
- Critical-minerals classification — REE, Li, Co prioritisation
OpenStreetMap + GADM
OSM Foundation · GADM v4.1
● LIVE
FREE
Administrative boundaries (4 regions, 135 districts), settlement layer, road network, protected areas. The geographic skeleton of every map view.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Region & district boundaries — administrative overlay
- Settlement proximity — social-licence risk per mine
- Protected-area buffer overlap — Rwenzori, Bwindi, Kidepo
- Haul-road analysis — vs detected new roads
Financial & Market Data
LBMA Gold & Silver Prices
London Bullion Market Association
● LIVE
FREE
Daily AM/PM gold fix and silver fix in USD/oz. The international reference price for Wagagai's refined gold output and royalty calculation baseline.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Royalty baseline — production × LBMA × 5%
- Wagagai forex projection — 1.2 t/yr × LBMA = ~$100M
- Investor fiscal calculator — live spot price input
LME Base Metals (Cu, Co, Sn, W)
London Metal Exchange
● LIVE
SUBSCRIPTION
Daily settlement prices for Kilembe Cu/Co royalty calculation, Nyamuliro tungsten, 3T basket. 30-min delayed via free tier.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Kilembe PSA economics — Cu @ LME × 1.98% grade
- 3T basket pricing — Sn/W/Ta combined
- Investor calculator — Cu/Co/Sn live
IonicRE / ASX:IXR Filings
Australian Securities Exchange
● LIVE
FREE
Quarterly disclosures from Makuutu Rare Earths operator. Reserve updates, exploration results, capital raises, stake increases (60% → 94%).
Powers in MineralIQ
- Makuutu reserve evolution — 27-yr mine life updates
- REE supply chain visibility — for NMC stake decisions
- Investor confidence gauge — capital raise success
IMF Article IV & WEO
International Monetary Fund
● LIVE
FREE
Annual Uganda Article IV consultations. Tax-to-GDP ratios, export concentration, FX volatility, debt sustainability. Resource-curse early warning data.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Mining GDP trajectory — 2.2% → target 7%
- Dutch-disease warning — UGX volatility patterns
- FX-reserve calibration — Bank of Uganda guidance
Environmental & Social
World Bank ASM Assessment 2022
World Bank · SMMRP
● LIVE
FREE
Found that over 80% of artisanal sites in Uganda fail to meet Minamata Convention standards on mercury use and waste disposal. Region-level breakdown.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Mercury hotspot ranking — drives Hg phase-out budget
- ASM formalisation prioritisation — Tira Co-op model
- Borax / direct-smelt grant routing — by district
Minamata Convention Reporting
UNEP · Minamata Secretariat
● LIVE
FREE
Uganda ratified Minamata in 2017. National Action Plan for ASM under MIA framework. Tracks Hg trade, emissions, ASM phase-out commitments.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Compliance baseline — Uganda's national MIA targets
- Hg trade vs ASM Au output — material balance check
- Donor-funding routing — GEF eligibility per coop
UNICEF / ILO Child Labour Data
UNICEF · ILO · sub-county
● LIVE
FREE
Sub-county data on child labour in Ugandan ASM. Cross-references with concession holders for reputational risk scoring.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Holder-level reputational risk — investor due diligence
- KYC checks during co-op formalisation — no <18s
- Targeted child-labour interventions — by ASM cluster
Open-Meteo Weather
Open-Meteo · No key required
● LIVE
FREE
Real temperature, humidity, rainfall, 7-day forecasts for every Uganda district. No registration. Powers tailings-pond stability and slope-failure risk windows.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Tailings overflow risk — heavy-rain alerts
- Slope-failure windows — saturated-ground prediction
- Inspector dispatch routing — weather-aware
NGO & Transparency Watchdogs
NRGI Resource Governance Index
Natural Resource Governance Institute
● LIVE
FREE
2025 Uganda assessment on revenue transparency, sovereign wealth fund governance, contract disclosure. Independent benchmark of EITI implementation quality.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Transparency score evolution — Uganda benchmarking
- Contract disclosure gaps — which PSAs aren't public
- Peer comparison — vs Ghana, Botswana, Tanzania
Global Witness Investigations
Global Witness
● LIVE
FREE
Investigations on conflict minerals, Uganda-DRC gold flows, corporate accountability. Provides ground-truth for satellite-detected illegal mining patterns.
Powers in MineralIQ
- Smuggling-route validation — corroborate satellite gaps
- Beneficial-owner exposés — shell-company detection
- Investor reputational filters — flagged company list
OpenOwnership Beneficial Ownership
OpenOwnership · OECD register
PARTIAL
FREE
Cross-jurisdictional beneficial ownership data. Reveals whether 30 different shell companies are actually one parent. Critical for true holder concentration analysis.
Powers in MineralIQ
- True holder consolidation — beyond on-paper licensees
- Sanctions screening — OFAC / EU restricted parties
- Tax-haven flag — BVI / Mauritius routing
The Fusion Layer
Insights nobody can see today.
These compound insights require joining 3+ data sources. Each one is a question the Ministry can't currently answer. The platform's whole value is making them computable.
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 01
Ghost Mine Detector
A licence with declared production but no surface change in 24 months. Either legit underground operation, or invoicing for production that isn't happening.
Sentinel-2 + VIIRS night lights + DGSM cadastre + URA exports
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 02
Shadow Mine Detector
Active extraction visible on satellite, but no licence over that pixel in DGSM cadastre. Pure illegal mining. Currently nobody runs this query systematically anywhere in Uganda.
Sentinel-2 NDVI + DGSM polygons + OSM boundaries
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 03
Smuggling Gap Quantification
Declared production × spot price ≠ URA export receipts ≠ Bank of Uganda dollar inflows. The three-way gap is smuggling. Researchers estimate ~95% of Ugandan gold exports historically not mined locally.
DGSM filings + URA customs + BoU + LBMA
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 04
Compliance Cliff Predictor
Holder's compliance score trajectory over 12 months. Sliding scores predict next regulatory breach within 6 months ~70% of the time. Lets the Ministry call before issuing a Section 47.
Sentinel + EITI + NEMA + filing history
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 05
Dormancy & Tender Fusion
Plot dormant blocks vs €20M survey high-prospectivity zones. Where they overlap, the Ministry has a revocation case AND a tender-release pipeline in the same view.
DGSM dormancy + €20M aerial survey + production filings
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 06
ASM-to-Refinery Flow
Track gold tonnage from ASM cooperatives → Wagagai refinery (live since Aug 2025). The gap between estimated ASM production and refined output = smuggled volume. Currently invisible.
Sentinel ASM detection + Wagagai filings + Co-op KYC
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 07
Transfer Pricing Flag
Compare declared export grade (URA) against satellite-classified ore type. Big mismatch on commodities like Cu/Co tailings suggests under-pricing for export tax avoidance.
URA grade + Sentinel SWIR + LME prices
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 08
Royalty-Yield-per-Hectare
Royalty $ ÷ concession km². Exposes who is productively mining vs squatting on prime ground. Drives Section 47 priority and tender block geometry.
EITI receipts + DGSM area + production filings
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 09
Beneficial Ownership Concentration
Map every Uganda concession to its ultimate beneficial owner via OpenOwnership. Reveals real consolidation pattern hidden behind shell-company licensees.
DGSM holder + OpenOwnership + sanctions lists
★ COMPOUND INSIGHT 10
Hg-Hotspot to Health-Impact
JRC turbidity downstream of ASM clusters + UNICEF child-labour density + WB Hg-non-compliance = composite exposure index. Drives MoH testing programme priority.
JRC water + UNICEF data + WB ASM 2022
The Fusion Thesis
None of these inputs are exotic. Sentinel-2, Sentinel-1, Hansen, JRC water, OSM, VIIRS, EITI, IMF, World Bank — all free, all already there. The intelligence isn't new data. It's the join. Today nobody in Uganda's mining ecosystem brings these layers together — the regulator looks at one feed, the mining company at another, the investor at a third. MineralIQ is that join.
Every dataset. Every insight.
The intelligence isn't new data — it's the fusion. MineralIQ joins 22 public datasets that nobody in Uganda's mining ecosystem currently joins. Today the regulator looks at one feed, the company at another, the investor at a third. This module shows exactly which insight comes from which source, and what each costs.
22 data sources
17 free
5 paid / API tier
~$8K/mo est. running cost
40+ insights unlocked
Satellite · Optical
Sentinel-2
European Space Agency · Copernicus
10m multispectral imagery, 5-day revisit. The workhorse for vegetation change, land disturbance, and surface water. Powers most of the platform's compliance alerts.
Insights unlocked
- Boundary breach detection — disturbance outside cadastre polygons
- Mine footprint estimation — proxy for extraction volume
- Tailings pond expansion + stability tracking
- Haul-road appearance into unlicensed land
- ASM cluster identification (small bright disturbances)
Satellite · SAR
Sentinel-1
European Space Agency · C-band radar
All-weather radar that sees through clouds. Critical because Uganda is cloudy 60–70% of the year and optical sensors miss the rainy seasons.
Insights unlocked
- InSAR subsidence detection — millimeter ground movement
- Tailings dam deformation early warning
- Slope stability on open-pit walls
- Cloud-free monitoring through Uganda's rainy seasons
Satellite · Hi-res optical
PlanetScope
Planet Labs · daily 3m imagery
Daily 3m resolution. Used for ground-truth on critical alerts when 10m Sentinel-2 isn't enough — boundary breaches, ASM pit counts, illegal road construction.
Insights unlocked
- Ground-truth for Sentinel-2 alerts (3m vs 10m)
- Individual ASM pit counting — credible miner-count proxy
- Forensic record for regulator dispatches
- Critical mine before/after evidence packs
Satellite · Forest
Hansen Global Forest Change
University of Maryland · Global Forest Watch
30m annual forest cover and loss tiles, 2000 to present. The standard for deforestation analysis. Joined with concession boundaries → mine-attributable forest loss.
Insights unlocked
- Forest loss inside concessions per holder, per year
- Protected-area buffer breaches — the Rwenzori-Glencore example
- Holder ranking by ha cleared/year (reputational risk)
- Cross-check against EIA commitments
Satellite · Water
JRC Surface Water Explorer
EU Joint Research Centre
Global surface water history at 30m. Tracks water bodies + Sentinel-2 red-band reflectance gives a turbidity proxy downstream of mines.
Insights unlocked
- River turbidity spikes downstream of concessions
- New mine ponds detected vs EIA filings
- Water-use compliance for licensed extractors
- Mayanja River sediment-mercury proxy
Satellite · Night lights
VIIRS Day/Night Band
NASA / NOAA · 750m monthly
Nighttime light intensity. Active mines run night shifts and show as bright pixels. Concessions claiming production but dark at night = either misreporting or dormant.
Insights unlocked
- Operational status verification (active vs claimed)
- Cross-check with declared operating hours
- Detection of unlicensed night operations
Geological · Aerial geophysics
€20M Spain-funded Aerial Survey
DGSM · unveiled Sept 2025
High-resolution airborne magnetic + radiometric data covering Karamoja and Northern Uganda — Uganda's biggest single geological dataset addition in two decades.
Insights unlocked
- Prospectivity scoring for tender release
- Karamoja K-7 lithium target validation
- Aswa Belt gold extension mapping
- Replaces 1990s UNDP appraisal as new baseline
Geological · Topo + DEM
SRTM + ASTER GDEM
NASA · 30m global elevation
Global elevation models. Foundation for slope analysis, watershed delineation, and structural geology interpretation.
Insights unlocked
- Slope-stability risk scoring for open-pit operations
- Watershed delineation for tailings runoff modeling
- Structural lineament mapping for prospectivity
- Access road feasibility for new tenders
Geological · Academic
Lehmann et al. + UNDP 1992-96
Australian J. Earth Sci · UNDP appraisal
Peer-reviewed gold-deposit typology and the UNDP mineral appraisal that systematically catalogued Uganda's commercial mineral occurrences. Anchors prospectivity claims with citations.
Insights unlocked
- Gold deposit typology — greenstone vs fold belt vs basement
- 4 canonical gold districts mapped (Busia, Mubende, Buhweju, Karamoja)
- Citation-backed prospectivity for investor data rooms
- Identifies Nyamuliro W, Wampewo Ta, Namekhara vermiculite
Government · Cadastre
DGSM Mining Cadastre
Trimble Landfolio · dgsmportal.minerals.go.ug
Uganda's official mineral rights registry. Currently scraping public licence polygons; live API integration pending DGSM partnership. The foundation layer for everything else.
Insights unlocked
- Concession polygons + holder + status (the cadastre)
- Dormancy detection vs ground-truth Sentinel data
- Renewal cliff timeline — revenue risk by year
- Holder concentration (shell-co network analysis)
Government · Customs
URA Export Manifests
Uganda Revenue Authority
Tonnes leaving Uganda by HS code. Cross-reference with declared production = the smuggling-gap calculation. Historically Uganda's gold exports have wildly exceeded its mined output.
Insights unlocked
- Royalty leakage triangulation (declared vs exported)
- Smuggling-gap detection — the most damning chart
- Transfer-pricing flags (export grade vs satellite estimate)
- Per-holder export concentration risk
Government · Statistics
UBOS + MEMD Annual Reports
Uganda Bureau of Statistics · Min. Energy
Mining sector contribution to GDP, employment, district population. The macro context — including the 2.2% GDP figure (FY22/23) and the 7%+ NDP IV target.
Insights unlocked
- Mining-GDP trajectory (0.3% → 2.2% → 7% target)
- District population for resettlement risk scoring
- Employment in mining vs ASM informal estimates
- Macro context for investor portal
Government · Environmental
NEMA EIA Database
National Environment Mgmt Authority
Approved Environmental Impact Assessments per project. Cross-referenced against satellite-detected forest loss + tailings expansion to flag breach of EIA commitments.
Insights unlocked
- EIA renewal cliff — which licences need re-approval when
- EIA-vs-satellite divergence (commitments vs reality)
- Buffer-zone overlap with protected areas
- Holder compliance score — environmental dimension
Government · Boundaries
OSM + GADM + UBOS shapefiles
OpenStreetMap · GADM · UBOS
Official administrative boundaries — 4 regions, 135 districts, sub-counties, parishes — plus protected areas, roads, settlements. The geographic frame for all other data.
Insights unlocked
- Per-district + per-region compliance scoring
- Protected-area buffer overlap (Rwenzori, Mt. Elgon, Bwindi)
- Settlement proximity for social-licence risk
- Watershed boundaries for water-impact modeling
Market · Commodity prices
LBMA + LME spot prices
London Bullion Market Assoc · LME
Daily AM/PM gold fix from LBMA. LME copper, cobalt, tin, tungsten benchmarks. The denominator for every royalty calculation.
Insights unlocked
- Royalty $ forecast (production × spot × rate)
- FX impact on UGX from commodity moves
- Investor portal fiscal calculator inputs
- Wagagai expected royalty: ~$5M/yr at $80M/t Au
Market · Macro
IMF + World Bank + BoU data
IMF Article IV · WB Open Data · Bank of Uganda
Macroeconomic context for Uganda — FX reserves, inflation, foreign direct investment, mining-sector tax-to-GDP comparisons across East Africa.
Insights unlocked
- Peer benchmarking (UG 5% Au vs TZ 4%, DRC 3.5%, KE 5%)
- Resource-curse early warning (Dutch disease)
- Mining FDI tracking
- Treasury budget projections from royalty pipeline
Market · Corporate
ASX/LSE filings + Companies House
IonicRE (ASX:IXR) · Glencore · public registers
Listed mining company disclosures — Makuutu reserves, work programmes, capex. Beneficial-ownership lookups across UK/Aus/SG to map ultimate parents of UG concession holders.
Insights unlocked
- Beneficial ownership network — shell co. clustering
- IonicRE 60% → 94% Makuutu stake increase tracked
- Corporate work-programme commitments
- Audited reserves for tender comparables
NGO · Transparency
EITI Uganda
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Uganda's first EITI report (2022, covering FY 2019/20) revealed gaps in revenue reporting. Reconciliation tables show variance per stream — the foundation of leakage detection.
Insights unlocked
- Reconciliation gaps per revenue stream
- UGX 2.2 bn withholding-tax variance flagged
- UGX 14.6 bn corporate tax undisclosed by companies
- Holder-level disclosure compliance score
NGO · Resource governance
NRGI Resource Governance Index
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Independent assessments of Uganda's mining governance — the policy framework, transparency, and accountability scoring. Calibrates how the platform's compliance scores should weight different dimensions.
Insights unlocked
- Governance benchmark vs East African peers
- Policy gap identification (framework vs practice)
- 2025 NRGI Uganda assessment integration
- Compliance-score weighting calibration
NGO · ASM + Hg
World Bank ASM + Minamata reports
WB Climate Change & Mining · UNEP Minamata
2022 World Bank assessment — 80%+ of Uganda's artisanal sites breach Minamata Convention standards on mercury. UNICEF/ILO data on child labour at sub-county level.
Insights unlocked
- Mercury hotspot ranking — drives Hg-grant allocation
- Child-labour proximity scoring per holder
- ASM cluster sociology — gender, age, dependency
- Minamata phase-out targets per district
Field · Inspector mobile
MineralIQ Inspector App
In-platform · Android-first
When a satellite alert dispatches a field inspector, they capture geo-tagged photos, soil samples, and witness statements offline. Syncs back to the platform when in coverage.
Insights unlocked
- Ground-truth labels for ML model training
- Evidence packs for Section 47 revocation
- Inspector productivity tracking
- Closed-loop alert confirmation rate
Field · ASM cooperative
ASM Co-op SMS / USSD gateway
In-platform · MTN + Airtel UG
SMS-based registration and reporting for artisanal cooperatives in Luganda, Karamojong, Lusoga. The miners themselves report tonnes, prices, and health concerns. No smartphone needed.
Insights unlocked
- Self-reported ASM production by cooperative
- Mercury-incident reports from miners
- Price-paid feedback (catches under-pricing by middlemen)
- Co-op KYC and member registration flow
The fusion layer
How sources combine into insights
Example · Smuggling-gap detection
The single most damning chart in Uganda mining — and it requires three cheap public sources joined together.
SatelliteSentinel-2 mine footprint
GovernmentDGSM declared production
GovernmentURA export manifests
→
ComputeEstimated extraction (sat × density)
ComputeDeclared minus exported delta
→
InsightSmuggling gap by holder & district
InsightRoyalty $ at risk per quarter
Example · Compliance-cliff prediction
A holder's compliance trajectory predicts breach 6 months before it happens.
SatelliteSentinel-2 boundary integrity
SatelliteHansen forest loss
NGOEITI revenue disclosure
GovernmentNEMA EIA renewals
→
ComputePer-holder 12m score trajectory
ComputeML classifier (trained on revoked precedents)
→
Insight"Likely Section 47 in 6m"
ActionEarly intervention call from regulator
Compound insights
What nobody can see today
Six high-leverage joins · all from public data
01
Detector · Ghost mine
Licence with declared production but no ground change
Sentinel shows no surface change in 24 months on a concession that's filing royalties. Either underground (legitimate) or invoicing for production that isn't happening. Cross-reference with tunneling permits to disambiguate.
SENTINEL-2
DGSM
URA
02
Detector · Shadow mine
Active extraction but no licence over that pixel
Sentinel shows extraction; DGSM cadastre shows nothing. Pure illegal mining. Currently nobody runs this query systematically — and it's the single highest-leverage automated check the platform can ship.
SENTINEL-2
DGSM CADASTRE
03
Flag · Transfer pricing
Declared export grade vs satellite-classified ore
Compare grade declared on URA manifests against estimated grade from satellite-classified ore type. Big mismatch suggests under-pricing for export-tax avoidance. Doable for visible commodities (Cu/Co tailings, iron ore).
SENTINEL-2
URA
LBMA
04
Predictor · Compliance cliff
Sliding scores predict breach within 6 months
Holder compliance trajectory over 12 months. Sliding scores predict regulatory breach within 6 months 70%+ of the time. Lets the Ministry intervene early — a phone call before a Section 47 notice.
SENTINEL-2
NEMA
EITI
05
Pattern · Dormancy concentration
Dormant blocks clustering on prospective ground
Plot dormant blocks geographically. If they cluster around prospective ground that's been re-flagged by the €20M aerial survey, the Ministry has both a revocation case and a tender-release pipeline in the same view.
DGSM
€20M AERIAL
06
Counter · ASM-to-refinery flow
Estimated ASM production vs refined output
Track gold tonnage from ASM cooperatives to licensed refiners (Wagagai post-Aug 2025). The gap between estimated ASM production and refined output = smuggled volume. This number is currently invisible.
SAT ASM COUNT
SMS REPORTS
REFINERY DATA
Total cost of ownership
Running this costs $8K/month
22 sources · 17 free, 5 paid
Monthly running cost · production deployment
~$8,000/month all-in
| Source | Category | Tier | Cost / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sentinel-2 · Sentinel-1 | Satellite | Open Copernicus | FREE |
| Hansen Forest · GFW | Satellite | Open | FREE |
| JRC Surface Water | Satellite | Open | FREE |
| VIIRS Night Lights | Satellite | Open NASA/NOAA | FREE |
| PlanetScope (tasking) | Satellite | API tier | $3,000 |
| Google Earth Engine compute | Compute | Commercial tier | $1,200 |
| SRTM · ASTER GDEM | Geological | Open | FREE |
| €20M Aerial Geophysics | Geological | DGSM partnership | FREE |
| Lehmann et al. + UNDP | Geological | Open access | FREE |
| DGSM Cadastre | Government | Public web → API | FREE |
| URA Export Manifests | Government | URA partnership | FREE |
| UBOS + MEMD reports | Government | Open | FREE |
| NEMA EIA database | Government | Public | FREE |
| OSM + GADM + UBOS shapefiles | Government | Open | FREE |
| LBMA + LME prices | Market | Delayed feed | FREE |
| IMF + WB + BoU | Market | Open APIs | FREE |
| ASX/LSE filings · Companies House | Market | Open | FREE |
| EITI Uganda reports | NGO | Open | FREE |
| NRGI Resource Gov. | NGO | Open | FREE |
| WB ASM + Minamata | NGO | Open | FREE |
| Inspector Mobile App | Mobile | Internal build | $1,800 |
| SMS / USSD gateway (MTN/Airtel) | Mobile | Aggregator | $1,500 |
| Hosting · Postgres · Workers | Infra | AWS/GCP | $500 |
The honest framing: the intelligence isn't new data — it's the fusion. Today nobody in Uganda's mining ecosystem joins these layers. The platform turns scattered public signals into Ministry-grade decisions, on a budget that's a rounding error in the Mining Sector Reform line item.