The Uganda Daily Monitor reported that the Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development will biometrically register Uganda’s artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM). The process budgeted at US$350,000 aims to provide clarity and transparency to the small mining sector in Uganda with the Minister of State for Energy and Mineral Development hoping the process will help to tackle illegal mining and smuggling. The process is expected to start by the third quarter of 2018 targeting 1,200 miners although it is not yet known when the entire project will be completed.