By Bernard Gitau
Kenya has taken steps to fight illegal mining following the establishment of a Mining Police Unit. Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Ali Hassan Joho, has announced that this unit will collaborate with Interpol to recover minerals mined in Kenya and prosecute those involved in illegal trading.
He said Kenya is only earning about 1 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from minerals, hence the need to take action to increase this to more than 10% by 2030.
Half of mining in Kenya is artisanal and small-scale that contributed KES 30 billion to the economy in 2023. Legal artisanal is subsistence mining where individuals, groups, or families extract minerals from the earth using their own resources.
Kenya’s mineral deposits include Gold, copper, silver, lead, talc, titanium, manganese, zinc, nickel, chromite, pyrite, and rare earth elements. Much of these are mined in Migori, Kakamega, Transmara, Nandi, West Pokot, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, and Isiolo.
The CS said Mineral Value Addition Centres have been established nationwide further to enhance the mining industry’s contribution to the economy. These centers include the Voi Gemstone Centre, Kakamega Gold Refinery, Granite Processing Plant in Vihiga, the revival of the Fluorspar factory in Elgeyo Marakwet, and the Kisii Soapstone Value Addition Centre.
