SEAMIC Newsletter Vol. 10

OPPORTUNITIES IN MINING INVESTMENT
IN UGANDA
BY Geological Survey and Mines Department of Uganda
INTRODUCTION
The geology of Uganda can be sub-divided into five
major domains; Crystalline Precambrian Basement,
Precambrian ‘covers’ formations, Cretaceous-Tertiary
carbonatite/alkali intrusions, Tertiary-Quaternary
volcanics and Quaternary sediments. These domains are
characterized by particular mineral association.
The minerals of Uganda grouped as metallic and
industrial minerals were discovered and mined since
1920s. To date the mineral resources of the country
remain largely under exploited due to various reasons
including decades of unfavourable political climate and
economic policies as well as inadequate geological
information. The Department of Geological Survey and
Mines is the government body charged with the
management of geological and mineral resources of
Uganda whose mission is to establish, promote the development, strategically manage and
safeguard the rational and sustainable utilization of mineral resources for economic and social
development.
GEOLOGY
Precambrian Rocks
Crystalline Precambrian Basement: Wholly granitized and medium to high metamorphic
formations: The crystalline Precambrian rocks are gneisses, granites in the central and
northern parts of Uganda, granulite facies rocks (the Watian), acid gneisses (the Aruan), flaggy
epidote-amphibolite facies rocks (the Mirian) which tectonically post-dates the Aruan in West
Nile. This domain is host to minerals including asbestos, graphite, kyanite, garnet, talc,
feldspar, kaolin, clays and stone for aggregate. In the Karamoja region, north-eastern part of
Uganda, the rocks are biotite and hornblende-biotite gneisses, amphibolites and
metacalcareous assemblages, with notable marbles, ultrabasic rocks and quartzites (the
Karasuk group) and have similar characteristics to the Mirian. The formation hosts minerals
such as gold, copper, zinc, chromium, platinum and marble.
Precambrian ‘cover’ formations: Partially granitized
♦ Nyanzian System-(~ 2,500 Ma): The system is comprised of volcanic rocks with
subordinate sediments that occur in the south-east of Uganda forming the greenstone belt
extending to Kenya and rests on the Basement Complex.
♦ Buganda-Toro System-(2,000-1,800 Ma): This system is predominantly composed of
argillaceous rocks, varying from phyllites to mica schists, with basal arenites which tend
to thicken westwards and amphibolites thickening eastwards.
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