The role of state-owned companies in the mining sector

Loyola is an Advocate of the Courts of Judicature of Uganda and a Mining & Energy Lawyer with thirteen years of specialised experience in the extractives and energy sectors. She currently serves as Senior Legal Officer at the Government of Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), where she leads a team providing in-house legal advisory services to the Ministry’s departments. Her portfolio covers law and policy reform, contract drafting and negotiation, licensing and regulatory compliance, and dispute resolution in liaison with the Attorney General’s Chambers. She has played a central role in major national reforms and strategic initiatives in Uganda’s mining sector. Loyola was part of the core team that developed the Mining and Minerals Act, Cap. 159 and its implementing Regulations; a member of the technical team that supported the inaugural Board of the Uganda National Mining Company Limited; and part of the inter ministerial team that negotiated and concluded Uganda’s first Mineral Production Sharing Agreement. In recognition of her contribution to sectoral transformation, she was awarded Outstanding Performer of the Year 2023 at MEMD. Loyola holds an LL.M. in International Natural Resources Law and Policy (Distinction) from the University of Dundee’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, where she studied as a Chevening Scholar. She also holds a Diploma in Legal Practice (Bar Course) from the Law Development Centre and an LL.B (Hons) from Makerere University. She was called to the Bar in 2015. Her earlier professional experience includes legal practice with Tier 1 law firms ABMAK Associates, and Byenkya Kihika & Co. Advocates, and service on a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Land. Her published work includes contributions to the World Bank’s African Mining Legislation Atlas (Toolkit for State Equity Participation, 2022), peer reviewed analysis on force majeure in Uganda’s power projects, and commentary on land access and the Mining and Minerals Act. Her research interests include ESG investing, community development agreements, and project finance for mining projects. Loyola is a sought-after speaker on mining governance, benefit sharing, and regulatory reform, with engagements at the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining (Geneva), the Investing in African Mining Indaba (Cape Town), the Mineral Wealth Conference (Kampala), and multiple MEMD and academic platforms. She is a member of the Uganda Law Society, East African Law Society, the Energy Institute (UK), and the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy. Her leadership and voluntary service include roles with the MEMD Staff Savings and Credit Cooperative, Women in Energy and Extractives Network, the Chevening Alumni Association of Uganda, the Uganda Law Society, Rotary International, and the Konrad Adeneur Stiftung Young Leaders Think Tank for Policy Alternatives.