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Mineral dealer's licence in Uganda
The short answer
In Uganda, anyone who buys or sells minerals, including gold, as a principal or as an agent must hold a mineral dealer's licence under the Mining and Minerals Act 2022. For precious metals, the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines lists an application fee of UGX 500,000 and a licence fee of UGX 10,000,000. The licence expires on 31 December of the year it is issued.
What the law says
Section 140(1) of the Mining and Minerals Act 2022 provides that a person shall not buy or sell, either as principal or agent, any minerals or tailings unless they are a licensed mineral dealer. A licensed dealer may only buy from a person who acquired the minerals lawfully.
Official fees and requirements for precious metals
| Item | Official figure |
|---|---|
| Application fee | UGX 500,000 |
| Licence fee | UGX 10,000,000 |
| Expiry | 31 December of the year of issue |
The Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM) lists these requirements for an application:
- the mineral dealer's licence application form;
- proof of financial resources;
- identification showing nationality, for individuals;
- a proposed plan for marketing, buying and selling minerals;
- a tax clearance certificate issued by the Uganda Revenue Authority;
- proof of technical competence, including CVs;
- certificates of good conduct for shareholders or directors.
The licence and exporting
A dealer's licence does not by itself allow export. Each consignment needs a mineral export permit, applied for on Form 52 of the Mining and Minerals (Licensing) Regulations 2023. DGSM lists an application fee of UGX 1,000,000 and a permit fee of 1% of the prevailing price, together with proof of royalty payment and a certificate of analysis. Whether a dealer's licence alone qualifies for an export permit in practice is unresolved. The rules on export, including the reported refined-gold requirement, are covered in the regulation section.
How to check a dealer's licence
DGSM's Mining Cadastre Portal offers a public search by licence code or company name, after accepting the portal's terms of use. DGSM also publishes a list of active mineral dealer and refining licences; when we checked on 13 September 2026 the link to that list returned an error.
Because a dealer's licence expires every 31 December, a licence presented as current should be for the current year. A licence number on a website is a claim until it is matched against DGSM's own records.
What this page cannot tell you
This page summarises official requirements. It does not say whether a particular foreign-owned company is eligible for a licence, which depends on the facts and needs Ugandan legal advice. A licence shows that a dealer is authorised to trade; it does not show that any particular consignment is genuine or lawfully sourced.
Sources and evidence for this page
Evidence for this page
Each statement is labelled by the strength of its evidence and dated. How we label evidence.
| Statement | Evidence | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying or selling minerals or tailings as principal or agent requires a mineral dealer's licence. | Official | Mining and Minerals Act, 2022, s.140(1) | |
| Precious-metals mineral dealer's licence - application fee UGX 500,000; licence fee UGX 10,000,000; licence expires 31 December of the year of issue; listed application requirements. | Official | DGSM Mining Cadastre Portal - How to obtain a mineral trading licence | |
| Export permit - application fee UGX 1,000,000; permit fee of 1% of the prevailing price; requires a valid dealer's licence or mineral right, Form 52, proof of royalty payment where applicable and a certificate of analysis. | Official | DGSM Mining Cadastre Portal - How to obtain a mineral trading licence | |
| The Mining Cadastre Portal allows public search by licence code or company name. | Official | DGSM Mining Cadastre Portal - map disclaimer page | |
| The public list of active mineral dealer and refining licences returned an error (HTTP 404) when checked. | Verified | Our check of the DGSM portal link |