Acholi paramount chief demands transparency in Orom graphite project

The Acholi paramount chief, Rwot Onen David Acana II, has called on the government and the mining company Blencowe Resources to involve the cultural institution and the local leaders on the progress of mining graphite in Orom, Kitgum District.

Rwot Acana says he has been left in the dark and yet sample mining of the precious mineral is already taking place in Orom.

Acana also demanded that the government and the licensed mining company to provide clear information on the compensation plans for local communities in Kitgum.

"As much as the government is the one that is the one which is in control of minerals, but again it is on our land and whatever they do there will affect our people," he said.

"They should let their involvement be known to some of us."

At a radius of 323 square kilometers, the Orom-Cross graphite project covers 10 villages in Orom East Subcounty.

Blencowe Resources PLC has a mining license for the next 21 years with revenue expected to exceed $2 billion.

The Acholi Members of Parliament John Amos Okot, Gilbert Olanya and the former leader of opposition Betty Aol Ocan have pledged to task the government to be open about how the royalties will benefit the local people.

Both Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on a large scale amounting to 1.3 million metric tonnes per year as of 2022, it is used in pencils, lubricants, and electrodes.

The Orom graphite is projected to be the purest in the world with an estimated mining period of 70 years.