By Jackson Okoth
Kenya is yet to undertake any aerial survey to establish availability of minerals within its borders. It therefore lags behind neighbouring Tanzania, which did its surveys in the 1970s, or Uganda, which completed this exercise between 2007 and 2010.
The Geology, Minerals and Mining Bill 2012 has already been approved by Cabinet and is expected to come up for discussion before end of this year, in what is expected to change mining infrastructure.
“The Government is entitled to only five per cent of all proceeds in a mining business. We expect the Mining Bill to change this lopsided situation while promoting Kenya as a viable mining destination,” Environment minister Chirau Mwakwere, said.
Immense resources
He spoke yesterday during the opening ceremony of the Second Mining Business and Investment (MBI) East Africa 2012 conference in Nairobi.
The two-day meeting dubbed, Harnessing Mining Investment Opportunities in East Africa, brings together over 300 exploration and mining players, Government officials, industry experts, investors, and decision-makers to explore the opportunities and potential of mining in East Africa.
The conference is designed to provide representatives of the mining industry with the information, tools and contacts to advance their business projects and aspirations forward.
It offers networking opportunities for international, regional, and local mining and exploration companies.
The minister noted that the mining industry is undergoing a period of exuberance on account of the overall growth of the East African economy driven primarily by the increase of activities in mining and national infrastructural investment.
“In the last few years, the East Africa region has attracted a lot of interest from investors in the mining industry.
The region has immense mineral resources such as titanium, gold, rare earth and niobium, coal, iron ore, manganese, gemstones and limestone which when harnessed , can be a key contributor to the GDP’s of the individual countries,” said Mwakwere.
Kenya’s new Mining Bill aims to facilitate the establishment of a vibrant mining sector, which can attract substantial investments for exploration, and exploitation of mineral resources.
“We still lack geological data, necessary equipment of even the required capital to exploit our mineral deposits. But we have now acquired drilling tools, laboratory equipment, and working on various industrial and legal reforms,” said Mwakwere.
