Kenya’s soda ash exports face uncertain future as silt settles over acres of Magadi

Lake Magadi, which has been mined since 1911 for its naturally occurring soda ash, is now under threat due to massive soil erosion upstream in Narok and Suswa.

Since 2005, the amount of silt that has found its way down to the lake has been on the increase, affecting the production of trona, which is the raw material that produces sodium carbonate.