Going for gold

Going for gold

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A gold nugget glitters in the fingers of a miner, one of around 2,000 people working in the chaotic environment of a makeshift mine in Mubende district, central Uganda.

Located in a poor area with little sanitation, the mine has nonetheless attracted workers from around Uganda and elsewhere in the region. In many cases they have given up other jobs to labour in dirty and difficult conditions, as they hope to make their fortune from the gold they find.

. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

Men work at the open-pit mine, which was established on a plot of land bought for just $200 by a 29-year-old Ugandan, Emmanuel Kibirige, in February 2013.

He now leases out the right to hunt for gold to a large community of independent miners, who use clattering machinery and basic tools to break rocks and then laboriously sift through the debris.

. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A man charges an array of mobile phones belonging to some of the miners at the improvised camp in Lukingi village.

He is part of a host of other industries that have sprung up around the mine, from gold traders to merchants selling food, water and other services to the miners.

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Slideshow

A miner wearing a head torch glances upwards as he breaks rocks at the gold mine.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A miner wearing a head torch glances upwards as he breaks rocks at the gold mine.

A miner labours in a dusty open pit.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A miner labours in a dusty open pit.

Dirt cakes a miner's face.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

Dirt cakes a miner's face.

Workers crush rocks in search of gold nuggets.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

Workers crush rocks in search of gold nuggets.

A woman hammers at the debris as she looks for gold.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A woman hammers at the debris as she looks for gold.

A man uses a grinding machine to crush rocks before washing them with water to extract the precious metal.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A man uses a grinding machine to crush rocks before washing them with water to extract the precious metal.

A young boy washes stone dust in search of gold nuggets.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A young boy washes stone dust in search of gold nuggets.

A woman washes dust in a plastic basin.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A woman washes dust in a plastic basin.

A miner holds up a piece of raw gold nugget.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

A miner holds up a piece of raw gold nugget.

Makeshift shelters, erected by the workers, stand on the mine in Lukingi village.
. MUBENDE, Uganda. REUTERS/James Akena

Makeshift shelters, erected by the workers, stand on the mine in Lukingi village.