Uganda: Kilembe: How the Once Vibrant Copper Mines Ended Up in Ruins

In Uganda, some things no longer surprise and if they do, it is usually the time taken to unfold that come out as the surprise. A Daily Monitor expose published on Monday that President Museveni ordered for the termination of the $175m (about Shs620 billion) concession awarded to a Chinese company to revive Kilembe Mines amidst claims of top officials having pocketed bribes, is one of those things. However, to anyone who had been to the mines since the deal was awarded in 2013, it was just a matter of time.

On November 2 last year, Tibet Hima Mining Company (THMCOL), the Chinese company that was granted the concession running until 2038, wrote to the ministries of Energy and Finance requesting for permission to export ‘bulk copper’ concentrates (crashed ore) for “metallurgical testing” which the company argued would then inform establishment of a smelter plant and machinery at the revamped Kilembe Copper Mines in Kasese District.

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