New plan to turn around mining sector

David Kipsaramat at the Ruby mine in Lesisunyei village, Baringo South. [Kipsang Joseph/Standard]

The Mining Ministry has stepped up efforts to streamline production and trade in minerals as it seeks to revamp the struggling industry.

This is on the back of mounting challenges facing the sector, resulting in a drop in production and revenues from major stones.

The ministry said it has increased its presence across different counties besides setting up value addition centres in areas that have a huge mining potential but remain unexplored.

The new offices, 34 in total, are expected to boost activities by small-scale miners, while the value addition centres in Kisii and Voi will tap into soapstone and gemstones production in the two areas respectively.

The ministry is also working with the Kakamega County Government in setting up gold refinery centres and a granite plant in Vihiga County.

The move comes at a time when there is a decline in production of minerals such as flourspar, with the largest producer in the country being forced to close shop after the collapse of global prices.

Other sub-sectors that have experienced a major production decline include soda ash where a tiff between Tata Chemicals and the Kajiado County government over land rates have affected the firm’s operations.

Gold production is also under threat as Goldplat, which operates the Kilimapesa Gold Mine in Narok County, recently shut down the mining after failing to secure a strategic investor for its Kenyan operation.

The ministry said opening up of centres across the country would address some of the prevailing issues, including serving as a liaison between miners and county governments as well as guiding the small-scale players in their operations.

“In an endeavor to take services closer to the people, the State Department of Mining has opened and operationalised 34 additional offices. The new offices include four border offices at Isebania , Malaba, Namanga and Lunga Lunga in Migori, Busia Kajiado and Kwale counties respectively. Similarly, more offices were also opened at the JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport) and Wilson Airport and the Likoni Port to expedite export and imports of mineral and mineral products,” said the ministry in a report on its undertakings in 2019.

It added that there are plans to set to set up a Kisii Soapstone Value Addition Centre, having completed a feasibility study that it noted would boost the income for soapstone carvers by expanding their market.

Revenues and production from minerals that have traditionally been the sector’s mainstay, such as fluorspar and gemstones, reduced drastically last year due to what the ministry said was a mix of factors, including volatility in prices. According to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, earnings from fluorspar went down to zero in 2018 from Sh2 billion in 2014.

This was attributed to sustained decline in the global market, which prompted the Kenya Fluorspar Mining Company to stop operations and hand the mines and other assets back to the government.