There are reports that children as young as age 7 mine gold in Uganda. This practice is especially common in eastern Uganda and in the northeastern Karamoja region, where children typically work alongside family members. According to international organizations and the media, thousands of children abandon school to work in ASGM. One research study found approximately 1,000 children working in gold mines in central Uganda. Boys work in dangerous conditions in the mines, collecting soil from deep, open pits. Children mine gold in riverbeds, use toxic mercury to process gold ore, and carry water from long distances to sift and wash sediment.

There are reports that school-aged children harvest sand in Uganda, particularly in the Central, Eastern, and Northeastern regions of the country. According to a Government of Uganda official, sand harvesting is one of the main occupations in which child laborers work. Children harvest sand for long hours, which prevents them from attending school. Children dive underwater, scoop up sand, and transport it to boats on the river bank. This work exposes children to severe health and safety hazards, including drowning, injury, and water-borne disease. 

There are reports that children as young as age 7 work in stone quarries in Uganda. Children, primarily boys, quarry and break stone in 3 of the 4 regions of Uganda. Areas of particular concern for children working in quarries include the northeastern Karamoja region and Central Uganda. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics estimates that 2,124 workers are involved in formal employment in stone quarrying; the majority of these work in quarries in Central Uganda. However, many workers are also known to quarry stone in informal, artisanal quarries, including many children. According to international organizations, media sources, and the U.S. Department of State, numerous incidents of children quarrying and breaking stone have been reported across the country and most notably in the northeastern Karamoja region. This work prevents children from attending school. In addition, children are exposed to loud noises, dust, long hours in extreme heat, and injury from flying stone fragments. Accidents from quarrying stone have resulted in loss of limbs, broken spinal cords, and loss of sight.