Sukulu mine
The Sukulu mine is a large mining and mineral processing complex located in Osukuru County, Tororo District, in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is one of the country's most important mineral resources sites, known for its niobium, phosphate, and iron ore deposits, and is central to industrial development plans that include a phosphate fertilizer plant and downstream processing facilities.
Sukulu represents one of the largest niobium reserves in Uganda having estimated reserves of 230 million tonnes of ore grading 0.2% niobium metal. The complex also contains deposits of phosphorus and iron, and a phosphate fertilizer plant has been established to utilize the phosphate rock resources.
Commercial phosphate processing at Sukulu started in the 1960s under the state-owned Tororo Industrial Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, producing single superphosphate before closing in 1977 during Uganda’s economic and political disruption. In the 2010s, Uganda signed agreements for renewed development linked to a phosphate mine and fertiliser plant project in Tororo District.
Location
Sukulu mine is in the Sukulu Hills, in and around Osukuru Sub-county and nearby areas of Tororo District, Eastern Region, Uganda. Studies of groundwater and geochemistry in the Sukulu phosphate-mineralised area report sampling locations in the Sukulu Hills region around 0.66–0.70°N and 34.14–34.19°E.Geology
The Sukulu deposit occurs within a carbonatite complex. A scoping study for the Sukulu phosphate project described the mineralised material as weathered and reworked residual soils enriched in phosphorus, iron, and niobium, with apatite and magnetite as major components and pyrochlore as a key niobium-bearing mineral.Resources and commodities
Reported commodities include phosphate rock, niobium, iron ore, and additional minerals linked to rare earth elements and titanium.Reported estimates
The figures below are compiled from published reports and should be treated as historical or indicative estimates unless updated by a current, publicly reported mineral resource statement.| Commodity / material | Reported estimate | Grade / notes | Source |
| Phosphate rock | 230 million tonnes | 13% P2O5 | USGS |
| Pyrochlore | 6 million tonnes | Reported as "pyrochlore" occurrence at Sukulu carbonatite deposit | USGS |
| Pyrochlore-bearing soils | 202 million tons | Fine particle size cited as a processing constraint | Nagudi, as reproduced in an Uganda mineral resources report |
| Iron ore | 45.7 million tonnes | Average grade 62% iron | USGS |
| Rare earth elements | 73.6 million tonnes | 0.32% La2O5 | DGSM 2024 |
| Phosphates | 230 million tonnes | 13.1% P2O5 | DGSM 2024 |
References for the table:
History
Uganda established Tororo Industrial Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited in 1962 to develop phosphate resources at Sukulu Hills and manufacture single superphosphate for domestic use and export to Kenya and Tanzania. The World Bank report describes TICAF’s SSP plant capacity as 25,000 tons per year and its sulphuric acid plant capacity as 10,000 tons per year, with operations starting in 1964 and closing in 1977.In December 2014, Uganda’s minerals minister told Reuters that the government had signed a deal with Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group to develop a phosphate mine and fertiliser plant in Tororo District, linked to a wider investment package that included a steel plant, with total spending reported at at least US$620 million.