The node is also the starting point, and the celebration is the announcement

Minutes of the Foundation Laying Ceremony of the Busia Gold Mine

On the morning of October 5, 2021 local time, the Busia Gold Mine developed and constructed by Wagagai Mining (U) Limited, a subsidiary of the group, held a grand foundation laying ceremony, marking the phased major achievements of the group's foreign projects.

On that day, the Busia Gold Mine featured colorful flag hunting, high banners, red carpet paving, and flower decoration, presenting a lively, festive and magnificent scene.

At 10:00 a.m., the guests invited to the foundation laying ceremony greeted the fresh and humid air of the "plateau water town" and arrived at the ceremony one after another with cheerful and warm welcome dance music. They are all major leaders and celebrities from Uganda's political, military, police, religious and well-known groups.

At 11:15, the guests and the host gradually took their seats. Among them, sitting in the VIP seats are Mr. Peter, Minister of State for the Ministry of Mines of Uganda, Mr. Okello, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Agnes, Director of the Bureau of Geology and Mines, General Joseph, the Third Commander of the National Defense Forces Karamoja, and Mr. Ceasor, Commander of the Busiya Regional Police Department. , Mr. LC 5-Stephen, Chairman of Busia Region, Mr. Joseph, Chief Executive of Busia Region, Mr. RDC Achilla, Regional Chairman, Mr. Haresh Patel, General Manager of Roofing Steel Co., Ltd., Mr. Tan Jiugang, Chairman of China Liaoning Hongda Enterprise Group, and Mr. Tan Jiuchang, General Manager .

Also present at the ceremony were Mr. Li Chaoran, Director of the Confucius Institute at Makerere University, representatives of the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first judge of the Busia Regional Court, Mr. Dioas, Director of the Busia Regional Police Department, Ms. Poan, the Director of the Busia Regional Procuratorate, and Central Africa. There are more than 150 staff representatives in total.

At 12:00, the foundation laying ceremony officially began with the welcome speech of the well-known local host. First, Muslims and Christians prayed, and then the national anthems of Uganda, China and the East African Community were played and sung respectively, and then the main leaders and guests came to the stage to give speeches.

Among them, Mr. Tan Jiuchang, general manager of Hongda Group, made a warm speech. Mr. Tan first extended a warm welcome to the guests and friends who came to attend the foundation laying ceremony, and paid high tribute to the guests who supported and helped the construction of the Busia Gold Mine. 

Mr. Tan pointed out that after the completion of the gold mine, it will make strong contributions to solving employment, creating taxes, stimulating the economy and improving people's livelihood in Bushia. In particular, the gold mine aims to build a sustainable development gold base of "safe science and technology, green environmental protection, resource-saving and leading in beneficiation and metallurgy", which will change the backward situation of local mining and improve the development level of mining industry in Uganda for 20-30 years.

Mr. Tan said that Hongda Group has the desire, responsibility and ability to implement the "Belt and Road" initiative and the concept of building a "China-Africa community with a shared future". He hoped that the leaders and guests present will continue to give support and help to the construction of the gold mine and work together. The Uganda and Chinese people are united and friendly, and win-win cooperation.

In her speech, Ms. Agnes, director of Uganda Bureau of Geology and Mines, thanked Wagagai company for its efforts to develop Uganda's mining industry, and thanked everyone for spending valuable time to witness the foundation laying ceremony of the gold mine. Agnes stressed that the development and value-added of mineral resources are crucial to industrialization and require the strong participation of the private sector. The Uganda government will take intervention measures to support mining development: First, the Ministry of Mining will provide necessary assistance to the private sector by providing baseline data of geological and mineral information; Second, strengthen the infrastructure construction of mining projects; Third, carry out geological, chemical and physical investigations to obtain more information about Uganda's mineral resources; Fourth, conduct a detailed evaluation of mineral products and conduct a feasibility study; Fifth, strengthen the legal and regulatory framework and human and institutional capacity-building; Sixth, map, register and organize artisanal and small-scale miners nationwide to ensure the standardization of the mining sector and protect investment; Seventh, build a mineral processing center to promote the value-added of local minerals and strengthen the institutional research capacity in Geological Sciences and Mining. One of the centers will be established in Busia; Eighth, continue to promote and attract investment in the mineral field.

In his speech, Mr. Peter, Minister of State Mines of Uganda, pointed out that this event demonstrated the important measures of Wagagai Mining (U) Limited in the development of Uganda's mineral resources. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Chinese government for its continued partnership in the development of the mining sector and even the development of the entire Uganda country.

Mr. Peter stressed that the Wagagai project is one of the key projects of the Uganda government in building mineral resources, increasing employment creation and industrial value. He claimed that the ongoing infrastructure construction of the gold mine and the provision of 3000 jobs are great innovations. The mining sector will ensure that mineral exploration and mining can promote national economic growth and improve people's living standards.

Mr. Peter hopes that the community and its leaders will provide support to the Wagagai gold mine project to benefit the local and even the whole country. He said that the government would strive to create a favorable environment for the investment and crack down on speculators in the mining industry to ensure that investors get a return, and asked the District Democratic Committee to directly supply power to the region.

Mr. Peter finally solemnly announced that the area is open and can carry out large-scale gold mining.

The speeches of the leaders and guests won rounds of applause and unanimous approval from the present.

Subsequently, the guests went to the signature area to sign as a souvenir, expressing their joint witness to the foundation laying ceremony of the gold mine.

At 13:40, the ceremony ushered in a highlight moment - laying the foundation for the gold mine project. Invited leaders and guests surrounded the square cornerstone with the words "Foundation" engraved in gold, and worked hand in hand to build soil, compact and bless the cornerstone.

The dark and sturdy cornerstone symbolizes the group's new important milestone on the African land, and also indicates that the group stands at a new starting point, embarks on a new journey, and takes a solid and powerful step towards a new victory.

Afterwards, under the guidance and introduction of director Agnes, the guests visited the gold mining machinery and advanced equipment displayed on site one by one.

The guests expressed strong interest in the powerful functions of gold mining machinery and equipment, and praised the world-class mining technology of the group company.

At 14:10, the ceremony ushered in another highlight moment - the planting of the China-Uganda friendship tree. First, Mr. Tan Jiuchang, General Manager of Hongda Group, and Mr. Okello, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Uganda, jointly unveiled the China-Uganda Friendship Tree.

Afterwards, Mr. Li Chaoran, Director of the Confucius Institute, and Mr. Okello delivered speeches respectively, and then representatives of both parties watered the friendship tree. The straight and green friendship tree symbolizes the solidarity and friendship between the Chinese and Uganda peoples, and they are bound to grow and flourish in the future.

Then, the representatives of China and Uganda jointly released doves of peace and wished the two sides a long-lasting friendship and the development of gold mines.

At 14:40, the host and guests began to have lunch together. During the period, Mr. Tan Jiugang, Chairman of Hongda Group, held talks and exchanges with Mr. Peter, Minister of State Mining and Mining of Uganda, and Ms. Agnes, Director of the Bureau of Geology and Mining.

Chairman Tan highly agreed with Mr. Peter's views on "without the huge investment of Hongda group, there would be no economic development in Busia, and there would be no employment opportunities for 3000 local people to learn survival skills" and "China and Uganda are currently in the best period of historical relations and should strengthen comprehensive cooperation in economy, culture and other aspects", and made a further introduction to the mining, beneficiation and metallurgy technology of the group's mineral resources. Chairman Tan said that the group will continue to increase investment in Uganda. Mr. Peter looks forward to greater and deeper cooperation between the two sides in the future.

Later, Mr. Peter, Minister of Mines of Uganda, Ms. Agnes, Director of Geology and Mines, and Mr. Tan of the Honda Group were interviewed by local media respectively.

In the interview, Minister Peter said that in terms of mining, Wagagai Mining company will become the largest mining group in Uganda.

"They're going to have a factory here, they're going to find gold here, we're going to have jobs, we're going to have income growth," Agnes said in the interview.

General Manager Mr. Tan pointed out in the interview that the first phase of the Busia Gold Mine is planned to invest 100 million US dollars and will be completed in 2023; After the project is completed and put into operation, 3,000 local jobs will be created, and all gold mining products will be used for export to earn foreign exchange, which can earn Uganda US$100 million in foreign exchange every year.

At 15:40, the foundation laying ceremony of the gold mine ended successfully with the guests and hosts enjoying a meal and friendly exchanges.

The foundation laying ceremony is not only a node but also a starting point, a celebration and a declaration. Under the correct leadership of the chairman and general manager of the group, let's work together, work hard in unity, move forward bravely, and help the giant ship "Hongda" sail through the wind and waves!

Materials: Zhang Xuefei, Ou Tianying  Editor: Jiao Ning