Kenya flourspar company resumes mining operations

By Dedan Okanga

Kenya Flourspar Company will resume its mining operations in June this year after several months of closure.

Growing demand for the mineral on the international market and rising prices, according to the management, influenced the move to resume business.

Hundreds of residents were laid off after the firm closed shop, due to what the firm’s management called ‘high costs of operation’ as the world went through the riguours of last years economic recession.

An estimated 20,000 residents in Keiyo depended on the Sh5 billion firm for their sustenance.

Global market

"The past few months have seen some improvements on the global market in terms of demand and prices," said the company Managing Director, Nico Spangenberg.

He said prices for fluorspar had risen between $230 to $250 per tonne, up from the previous $170 at the time of closure.

"But that is still low compared to the $450 the product normally fetched when the market was good," he said.

India and Western Europe are the main consumers of flourspar, a raw material used to manufacture flouride, which is used in cooling plants worldwide.

He was speaking in Keiyo South District on Friday during the awarding of scholarships to 12 students who excelled in last year’s KCPE.

The company awarded a one-year scholarship worth Sh30,000 to each of the 12 best students in the district, as part of its corporate social responsibility programmes.

Keiyo South District Education Officer Anthony Barasa lauded the move, saying it would spur academic excellence in the region.

Good incentive

"It is a good incentive from Flourspar, which will increase the motivational levels of students in the region," he said.

Residents welcomed the announcements to reopen the company, which they said would provide sustenance in the semi-arid region.