The Government is set to establish a gold refinery in Kakamega County, which will benefit thousands of artisanal miners in western Kenya.
Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS), Salim Mvurya, said his Ministry which floated the tender for the project last year was in the process of evaluating bids.
The initiative, he said, was at the heart of the Kenya Kwanza Administration, adding that all small-scale miners in western Kenya were set to benefit immensely from the project.
He said the project targets gold miners in Siaya, Migori, Homa Bay and Kakamega counties, who despite being in the trade for many years have not made meaningful gains.
“We want to mop-up all the gold from these areas to be refined at the plant we are establishing in Kakamega,” he said.
The Government has implemented strict measures to streamline operations in the gold mines sector, aiming to establish a large, ready market for the region. The Government has lifted a licensing moratorium, urging miners to engage in trade and develop a policy on mining, processing, and value addition to unlock potential.
Through the police, he said his Ministry plans to map-out all the existing minerals in all the 47 counties and determine their economic viability as the government moves to reposition the sector as a key revenue earner.
“Our teams are on the ground to map the country and identify key value chains, along the existing minerals,” he said. The drive, he said, has seen another tender floated for granite processing in Vihiga County.
“We feel that tiles should be made here in Kenya and you know we can do value addition to the stones in Vihiga and get value for money,” he said.
A similar venture, he added was on in Elgeyo Marakwet, where the government has concluded evaluation of bids for fluorspar mining.
This, he said, will see a strategic investor inject Sh. 4.8 billion in fluorspar mining thus benefiting residents of the County immensely.
“This drive will continue for copper, coltan and other minerals that we have discovered to establish markets and a strong value chain for the benefit of millions of artisanal miners in the country,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara
