By Emmanuel Okol
NATIONAL
Her Excellency Vice President Jessica Alupo has said that the government of Uganda under President Yoweri Museveni has for decades championed mineral value addition, culminating in Uganda’s ban on the exportation of raw materials.
“We must emphasize that no African country will build durable prosperity by exporting raw ore. The future lies in beneficiation, smelting, refining and manufacturing which is directly aligned with AMSG’s core imperative of mineral value addition.
The Vice President made the remarks during the 2nd Africa Minerals Strategy Group High-Level Roundtable event on Critical Minerals Development in Africa on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday 23-9-2025.
The Vice President saluted the heads of state, ministers, partners and investors at the meeting and also recognised the role of Nigeria, Kenya and the Africa Minerals Strategy Group as co-conveners of the dialogue and applauded the leadership of His Excellency Moses Michael Engadu the secretary general of AMSG for his tireless efforts in uniting Africa’s mineral vision and elevating it onto the global stage.
She added that the government of Uganda reaffirms that Uganda is honoured to host the permanent AMSG Secretariat in Kampala which is a living symbol of Uganda’s deep commitment to Africa’s mineral future.
Alupo shared that Uganda has undertaken a major national exploration drive, working with Excalibur Smart Mapping, which has comprehensively mapped Uganda’s mineral resources. She stressed that government led exploration builds investor confidence, derisks capital and unlocks Africa’s natural wealth.
She said that every country should commit to nationwide geological mapping and mineral inventories.
“We underscore the importance of AMREC (African Minerals and Energy Resources Classification) and PARC (Pan-African Public Reporting code) endorsed by the African Union. These frameworks ensure Africa’s resources are reported with global credibility but under African ownership.
Uganda strongly supports their implementation as continental tools for exploration, reporting and investment attraction,” the Vice President said.
The Vice President said that Uganda is ready to demonstrate leadership by championing mineral value addition – ensuring minerals are processed before expiry, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing across African States through AMSG, promoting joint investment opportunities such as beneficiation hubs shelters and refineries that serve multiple nations, driving strategic partnerships with sovereign wealth funds, multilateral institutions and the private sector to finance value addition and exploration.
Alupo said that Uganda strongly welcomes and supports the anticipated outcomes of this roundtable of the presidential communique on a unified African position which is a joint declaration by attending heads of state and strategic leaders articulating Africa’s collective stance on critical mineral governance beneficiation and security, reinforcing our continent’s strategic leverage in global mineral value chains, accelerated adoption of AMREC and PARC frameworks – endorsement and roadmap for implementation in priority member states advancing Africa’s mineral data sovereignty, transparency and alignment with international standards, major investment and partnership announcements – including bilateral and multilateral commitments, financing agreements and public private deals to support mineral explanation, local processing and infrastructure development, launch of Africa led financial and traceability tools – the Africa mineral token AMT as an innovative financing mechanism and the Marine blockchain traceability platform to promote ethical sourcing, supply chain visibility and ESG compliance.
The Vice President extended an invitation to investors, come to Uganda, where minerals are mapped by xcalibur smart mapping, value addition is the law and investor confidence guaranteed.
