HOW TO OBTAIN MINING LICENSE (MINING LEASE) IN UGANDA

HOW TO OBTAIN MINING LICENSE (MINING LEASE) IN UGANDA

Laws applicable include,

1. The constitution of the Republic of Uganda as amended
2. The mining Act 2003
3. The mining Regulations 2004
4. Land Act as amended

• Ownership of all minerals/mineral rights in Uganda in vested in the government of Uganda
• In Uganda, for anyone to engage in mining of minerals he or she must obtain mining license from commissioner, department of Geological Survey and Mines under the ministry of minerals upon application.
• We have two categories of mining licenses in Uganda, that is location license for small scale operators/investors whose capital does not exceed Uganda shillings 10,000,000 and mining lease which is for large mining investments.
• For purpose of this post we shall look at the procedure for obtaining mining license for large scale mining investments/operations in Uganda which is a Mining lease, location license shall be dealt with later.
• Every person who proposes to become a sole or joint holder of a mineral right in Uganda (including any member of a syndicate or an unincorporated association or body of persons), who does not intend to reside or is not resident in Uganda, shall appoint by power of attorney a person or persons resident in Uganda to represent him or her in all matters relating to all his or her existing mineral rights and any other mineral rights which may be subsequently granted to him or her.
• A power of attorney may with the consent of the Commissioner, be drawn in Form XVI in the First Schedule to the mining Regulations where the representative is to take out a prospecting license on behalf of his or her principal; and in Form XVII in the First Schedule to the mining Regulations where it is intended that the resident representative shall be responsible for other existing mineral rights or other mineral rights that may subsequently be granted, other than a prospecting license.
• Not later than fourteen days after appointing an attorney under the mining regulation, the holder of the mineral right shall submit the original and a copy of the relevant power of attorney to the Commissioner who shall retain the copy and return the original of the instrument to the person by whom it was submitted.
• Every holder of a mineral right, who is not personally and continuously in charge of operations under that mineral right, shall at all times have an agent at the site of the operations to be in charge of the operations and shall notify the Commissioner of every appointment or change of such agent.
• Every appointment or change of an agent under the mining regulation shall be subject to confirmation by the Commissioner; and where the Commissioner refuses to confirm an appointment or change, the Commissioner shall state reasons in writing for the refusal.
• Every holder of a mineral right shall ensure that every appointed agent shall notify acceptance of the agency in writing to the Commissioner, and no appointment of an agent shall be confirmed until the proposed agent has so notified his or her acceptance.
• No agent whose appointment has been confirmed may give up his or her agency without giving not less than one month’s notice in writing to the holder of the mineral right concerned and to the Commissioner.
• Mining lease is a mining license issued to large scale investor/operator/developer by the commissioner, department of Geological Survey and Mines to carry on mining operations/business in Uganda in an area not exceeding 256 hectares.

The procedure for obtaining mining license/ lease is here under

• Identify the area you intend to mine the intended minerals for purposes of prospecting those particular minerals.
• Indentify the true owners of the land in which you intend to carry out your mining operations by conducting due diligence.
• Upon identifying the true land owners negotiate, execute an agreement with the land owners and compensate them accordingly for purposes of allowing you carry out your mining operations on their intended land.
• Execute mineral agreement with the government of Uganda relating to operations in order to stabilize legal, social and economic obligations of either party to allow you prospect or explore the intended mineral to be mined.
• Survey the area of the land on which you intend to carry out your mining operations and have deed plan.
• Upon executing that mineral agreement, apply for the prospecting or exploration license from commissioner department of Geological Survey and Mines if the same had not been done before.
• Upon the commissioner granting you the prospecting or exploration license, proceed to prospect or explore the intended minerals for purposes of ascertaining the availability and quantities of the intended minerals in a given area if the same had not been done before.
• Thereafter peg that area and prepare the following
  • a map on scale 1:50,000; (in five copies), from the available Government map showing the position of the area applied for in such a manner as will enable it to be identified by the Commissioner, the approximate position of all dwellings, buildings, cultivated areas, plantations, and all streams and swamps in the area applied for,
  • a map (in five copies) on scale 1:10,000 giving dimensions of the area applied for;
  • a statement of the number of land owners or lawful occupiers of land in the area applied for;
  • written proof that the applicant has reached an agreement with the land owner or lawful occupier of the area he or she intends to mine as required by section 42 (3) of the Act;
  • written proof that the applicant has secured the surface rights of the land the subject of his or her application as required by section 43 (3) (h) of the Act;
  • the applicable mineral rent and fees as specified in the Third Schedule to these Regulations; and
  • a certificate of approval of environmental impact assessment from NEMA.
  • indication of financial and technical resources available to help you carry out the obligations under such lease
  • a full feasibility study including a plan of the area in respect of which the lease is sought
  • a statement giving details of the mineral deposits in the area of land over which the lease is sought, including details of all known 26 minerals proved, as well as possible and probable ore reserves and mining conditions;
  • a technological report on mining and processing techniques proposed to be used by the applicant;
  • a statement giving particulars of the programme of proposed development and mining operations, including a statement of the estimated capacity of production , scale of operations, the estimated overall recovery of the ore and mineral products; and the nature of the mineral products
  • a report on the goods and services required for the mining operations which can be obtained within Uganda and the applicant’s proposals with respect to the procurement of those goods and services
  • a statement giving particulars of the applicant’s proposals with respect to the employment and training of citizens of Uganda;
  • a business plan giving a detailed forecast of capital investment, operating costs and revenues; and the anticipated type and source of financing including the year for the positive cash flow and financial plan and capital structure.
• Request NEEMA to conduct environmental impact assessment of you intended operations in relation to the intended land to be used.
• Mark out the area(erecting beacons) over which he or she desires a lease in the manner described in regulation 10 of these Regulations
• But where the lease is required for mining of an alluvial deposit of a river or swamp, the applicant shall mark out the area in accordance with regulation 32 of these Regulations;
• Prepare the application for mining lease by filling in and sign, state the period for which the lease is sought using Form VI in the First Schedule to the mining Regulations.
• Attach all the above documentations on the application for mining lease and lodge it with the Chief Administrative Officer of the district concerned within thirty days of the erection of a location beacon for forwarding to the Commissioner;
• On the receipt of an application for mining lease at the office of the Chief Administrative Officer of a district, the Chief Administrative Officer concerned or an officer authorized by him or her shall certify in ink on each copy of the application the date and time at which the application was received, append his or her signature in ink and an official stamp to the application, and endorse each page of the application and any accompanying documents, after which the applicant shall submit the application to the Commissioner.
• The Commissioner shall review the application as a whole for purposes of determining whether to grant it or not.
• The Commissioner shall within sixty days after receiving an application under section 41 of this Act, cause the applicant for the grant of a mining lease to be notified of the Commissioner’s decision on his or her application, and if the application is granted, of the details of the proposed lease.
• The Commissioner shall notify an applicant for the grant of a mining lease and the Chief Administrative Officer of the district concerned of his or her decision;
• where the decision is to grant a mining lease, the Chief Administrative Officer shall cause a notice in Form XLV in the First Schedule to these Regulations to be served on all land owners or lawful occupiers of land within the area of the proposed mining lease; except that a general notice having the same effect posted at the district and its sub-county headquarters and such other place as the Commissioner may specify shall be sufficient notice to those land owners or lawful occupiers of land.
• Where the Commissioner’s decision is to grant a mining lease, he or she shall furnish the Chief Administrative Officer of the district concerned with a map showing the boundaries of the approved mining area.
• At the written request of the holder of a mining lease, the Chief Administrative Officer of the district concerned shall, subject to the Constitution and any other applicable written law, take such lawful steps as he or she deems fit to remove any land owner or lawful occupier of land from the areas of the proposed mining lease; except that the holder of the mining lease shall pay on demand such compensation as is required by law.
• No mining lease shall be granted over land which has not been surveyed and consequently the Commissioner shall, as soon as convenient after approving the grant of a mining lease, cause the holder to submit to him or her the deed plan of the land in question.
• Deed plan in this context means a map showing the mining area in question as certified by the Commissioner responsible for the land survey.
• On receipt of the deed plan in respect of the mining area, the Commissioner shall prepare the mining lease document in Form XXII in the First Schedule to these Regulations and attach a copy of the deed plan to that document after which the document shall be signed by the parties.
• As required by section 44 (3) of the Act, the Commissioner shall cause the grant of a mining lease to be published in the Gazette at the expense of the holder of the lease.
• Within fourteen days after the receipt of a mining lease, the holder of the mining lease shall paint and keep painted during the period of the mining lease, the number assigned to the lease by the Commissioner on every notice board of the relevant beacon.

Author is A regional transactions legal consultant (ADVOCATE) at NOA REGIONAL ASSOCIATED ADVOCATES AND LEGAL CONSULTANTS
Email address: onlinetransactionconsultancy@gmail.com.

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NOTE: whereas the author has made necessary efforts to ensure the accuracy of this post, it is not intended to provide specific legal advice to a particular individual as individual situations may differ.

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