Mining Access Granted—But at What Cost to Uganda’s Landowners?
As of today, Ionic Rare Earth has received approval of the Surface Rights agreement with the Uganda Government. This agreement must be understood and signed by the land owner. After revisions were completed by our legal team with the mining company, here is an excerpt from the agreement the community member is asked to sign: “PAP (Project Affected Persons) agrees to grant the Developer the exclusive right to use the whole or part of the Affected Land upon the Developer deciding to acquire such a right and paying compensation to the PAP as provided for under the Constitution and applicable laws of Uganda.”
Also, “If the developer decides to acquire the exclusive right to use the whole or part of the Affected Land, the Developer shall, before acquiring such exclusive right, compensate the PAP as agreed between the PAP and the Developer or as determined under clause 4.4 of Article 4 of this
Agreement.
Our legal team is working to ensure this binding agreement is held to legal standards within Uganda.
