On Tuesday, the new Board chairperson, Sanjay Tanna, and his team completed an assessment of the assets of Kilembe Mines Limited that are primary to cooper mining and another mineral that might be associated with copper.
The new board of
Kilembe Mines Limited-KML has expressed shock at the level of encroachment on the land belonging to the mines. Several encroachers have set up structures and grazing and gardens on the land belonging to KML in Katadoba, Kiteso, and Kilembe in Kasese municipality and Hima.
KML sits on an estimated 21 square kilometers or about 8100 acres of land. On Tuesday, the new Board chairperson, Sanjay Tanna, and his team completed an assessment of the assets of Kilembe Mines Limited that are primary to cooper mining and another mineral that might be associated with copper.
He, however, says that they discovered that
since the suspension of the operations of the mines, the surrounding local communities have
encroached on KML land, dismantled boundary marks, and erected permanent
structures.
He says that a number of valuable properties like electric systems were stolen, arguing that even the existing assets need serious renovation.
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Tanna appealed to
the local leaders in Kasese district to interest themselves in what is
happening at the mines and take appropriate action to safeguard KML land.
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Loyce Biira
Bwambale, one of the board members, said a number of people surrounding KML properties
never thought that the industry will be revived and as such decided to
illegally take over these properties. She said that as the government undertakes the process of selecting a potential investor, people
illegally occupying KML land should vacate or be ready to dialogue their way
out.
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Biira added that
from their findings, there is a huge potential for reviving the mines if the government identifies an investor. She called on the
local community to be ready to tap into the opportunities that come with such a
big industry.
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Fred Kyakonye Welaga,
the general manager of KML says that whereas they cannot estimate the actual
size of the land that has been encroached on, the government recently set up a committee to make findings on the same and this report has not yet been
released. He added that the presence of encroachers could break conflicts, especially in areas where an
investor might want to put up structures.
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Kyakonye also said
that KML has lost over 300 tonnes of cobalt and copper tailing ore since the industry closed.
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Uganda
seeks to revamp the production of copper and cobalt at Kilembe to take
advantage of the growing global demand.
