Having lost their traditional herds, the local people of Karamoja, Uganda have increasingly turned to small-scale gold mining as a meager but fairly steady source of income. Their livelihoods are now threatened as large mining interests grow.
Looming Battle for Karamoja’s Gold
![Water pipes laid by a large mining company conducting exploration in Karamoja, Uganda, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/a6e2a7b0-80f8-4661-a257-902caed558c0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Water pipes laid by a large mining company conducting exploration in Karamoja, Uganda, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)
![The Karimojong are traditionally semi-nomadic pastoralists, but their herds are fast disappearing, driving people into mining, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/d65d3b24-f546-4c98-81db-a672d42ca728_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The Karimojong are traditionally semi-nomadic pastoralists, but their herds are fast disappearing, driving people into mining, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)
![A gold nugget artisanal miners found in a dry riverbed, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/bb9bf70b-4f42-421d-8627-128f0ae46e25_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A gold nugget artisanal miners found in a dry riverbed, March 2, 2014. (Hilary Heuler for VOA)
![A Karimojong woman pans for gold using two plastic basins, March 2, 2014. Hilary Heuler / VOA News](https://gdb.voanews.com/89688224-7875-4a6b-be48-2e52e2b3e415_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A Karimojong woman pans for gold using two plastic basins, March 2, 2014. Hilary Heuler / VOA News