The government has spent Sh 600 million to procure state-of-the-art equipment for revamping the mineral laboratories as part of a long-term goal to establish regional laboratories and upgrade Kenya’s Madini Laboratory to operate within the ISO certified international standards.
The revamping of Madini Laboratory and the setting up of eight main regional laboratories in the former provincial headquarters speak of the extensive reforms in the mining sector geared towards the promotion of artisanal miners to bolster the mineral processing value chain for mineral resources in the counties.
The State Department for Mining Principal Secretary Elijah Mwangi said the purchasing of the equipment for Madini and regional laboratories was intended to complement the overarching vision by the department to promote the thousands of artisanal miners by providing them with easy access to critical testing services for their minerals.
This would shield the miners from brutal exploitation by unscrupulous brokers and buyers who often buy minerals at a throw-away price from artisanal miners.
Speaking in Nairobi during a capacity-building meeting for Regional Mining Officers, the PS noted that the department will continue to invest in programmes and activities that would uplift the artisanal miners in Kenya to enable them realise the true value of their minerals.
“We are committed to monetise Kenya’s mineral resources for the benefit of the stakeholders especially the artisanal miners. This calls for focusing on reforms that will make sure they benefit from their mining activities,” he said.
With over one million artisanal miners engaged in mining operations across Kenya, the decentralisation of the laboratory services is expected to offer a significant boost to efforts by the government to uplift the ‘hustler’ miners who have borne the brunt of exploitative brokers.
The lack of accessible laboratory services emboldened the brokers who made a killing by buying minerals from the artisanal miners at a throw-away price only to later sell it for a fortune.
The PS disclosed that the government was focused on improving the mining operations for the artisanal miners through strategic interventions that would promote their works.
Some of these interventions include the formalisation of their operations through the formation of marketing cooperatives where support including training and linkages to financial partners will be offered.
The gazettement of 27 Artisanal Mining Committee (AMC) to fast-track on the issuance of licenses for the artisanal miners in the counties will further enhance their mining operations.
“With the AMCs in place, we are expecting an expedited process of issuance of licenses to the cooperative societies,” he said.
Already, the government has started delineating special mining zones that will be set aside for mining operations by the artisanal miners marketing cooperatives. In Taita-Taveta County, the state is already exploring modalities of granting controlled access of Tsavo National Park to artisanal miners for mining of gemstones and other precious stones.
The PS said that talks are underway with large-scale mining investors who hold vast mineral fields of how to cede some of their land for artisanal mining activities.
“We are engaged in talks with some large-scale miners on how they can allocate some area for artisanal to engage in mining,” he said.
By Kibet Cheptumo
