The plant will refine gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries in the region, including Uganda which discovered gold last year.
The $1.5m (£990,000) refinery is operated by the Russian-owned firm Victoria Gold Star and has the capacity to produce at least 10kg of gold a day.
At the opening ceremony, the company’s managing director said his aim was to create a legitimate trade in gold.
"We shall require import and export licence for the gold that we shall refine," Yuri Bogoroditskiy is quoted as saying by Uganda’s state-run New Vision newspaper.
Correspondents says Uganda’s link with gold has often been controversial as it long has been accused of benefiting from the mines in the war-torn east of DR Congo.
The Ugandan army denied allegations that it looted resources during its involvement in DR Congo’s five-year war that ended in 2002.
Rebels based in DR Congo continue to be suspected of smuggling gold through Uganda and other neighbouring countries.
Source: BBC