Kassanda in located in Mubende District, approximately 58 kilometres (36 mi) east of Mubende, the location of the district headquarters.

[1] This is about 110 kilometres (68 mi) west of Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda.

Many were previously unemployed or underemployed youth from the streets of Kampala.

This has led to an impromptu "gold rush", with miners, washers, refiners, middlemen, buyers and exporters.

In 2014, it was reported that five out of fifty mines (10 percent) were producing gold.