President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has today launched Uganda’s first tin refining plant in Ruti, Mbarara City.
The facility is owned by Woodcross Resources, a company which is composed of a mining division focused on the exploration, development and operation of mining licences in Uganda, a commercial-scale tin refinery located in Mbarara ; and a mineral trading division, purchasing concentrate from audited mining sites across the Great Lakes Region of East Africa.
Tin is a type of mineral ore that contains tin, a soft, malleable, silvery-white metal. Tin is commonly used in various applications, including as a coating for other metals to prevent corrosion, in the production of solders, as a component in electronics, and in the manufacturing of tin cans.
During the launch, President Museveni who was in company of the First Daughter Mrs. Natasha Museveni Karugire, re-emphasized his call for value-addition to Uganda’s raw materials like minerals.
He said when minerals are exported unprocessed, Uganda loses a lot of revenue and other benefits that could steer the country’s socio- economic transformation.
“When it came to minerals, that is when we told them that if you do not want to add value, then we shall not allow you to export and I banned all exports of unprocessed minerals. Let the minerals stay in the ground, they have been there for a million years, if the present leaders don’t know how to do it, let them stay there, when more intelligent people come, they will do the needful. I will not be part of the crime of stealing people,” the President said.
“They have been paying Shs45,000 per kilogram for the unprocessed mineral but now once you process this stone and turn it into tin, the prices go up by three times almost, from Shs45,000 to Shs120,000. But secondly, that processing needs employees and a factory like this one. If the minerals had been taken out unprocessed, these jobs would not be here but that is not all, when the factory is here, he cannot use his electricity and water from Canada, he must use the ones here and he pays for them and other benefits,” he added.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa thanked President Museveni for his visionary leadership and persistence for mineral value-addition that has enabled the country to have its first tin-processing plant.
“Your Excellency, I remember, when I joined the ministry, there was a cabinet paper which had stayed in cabinet for a long time because you were insisting on value- addition, I tried to present it but there was a clause in that paper which indicated that we cannot achieve like 99 percent level of purity in tin because we don’t have the industry so we have to go slowly by slowly as industries come up. You chased me away from cabinet two times with my team and you created a cabinet committee which I chair so we went out determined to implement the directive on the ban of exportation of unprocessed minerals and also, we went to guide the companies on mineral beneficiation, and we were insisting on mineral value addition,” Hon. Nankabirwa said.
The Minister also informed the President that companies which have not been adding value to the country’s minerals have run out of business.
“And therefore, using the Attorney General, I signed a Statutory Instrument confirming the level of purity of tin smelted and refined in Uganda as 99.85 percent and above. Whoever is interested in tin mining and smelting, the level of purity which is already determined is 99.85 percent and above. That is what every tin smelter will follow,” she added.
The Minister of State for Mineral Development, Hon. Phiona Nyamutoro congratulated Woodcross Resources for setting up the very first tin smelting company in Uganda.
“Your Excellency, today’s launch is a manifestation of the vision that you have always had as a leader. You have always been steadfast and today all the doubting Thomases get to see that your vision has always been clear from the word go,” Hon. Nyamutoro said.
“Your Excellency, the launch of this company is a wakeup call to very many young people across the country and I hope this goes as a resounding echo encouraging them to equip themselves with the necessary skills so that they are able to be utilised by such establishment and as we look forward to bettering the mineral sector, we would have young people directly involved in the mineral value chain so that we fast-track the development of our country.”
The Mbarara City South- Member of Parliament, Hon. Mwine Mpaka congratulated President Museveni and Ugandans at large for achieving a milestone of adding value to the country’s raw materials.
“You have always told us about the bigger picture of value addition and even when we met and discussed coffee, the idea was to add value. You told us that from the 18th century, the biggest challenge of Africa has been value addition and today we are here to celebrate one of your achievements,” Hon. Mpaka said.
