Kenya’s mining sector has achieved a significant boost after a strategic investor embarked on the process of spearheading the revival of fluorspar mining at Kimwarer in Elgeyo Marakwet County in a deal expected to pump in over Sh4.8 billion into the plant.
Already, negotiations over the project have been done and terms agreed upon, paving the way for the long-overdue resumption of fluorspar mining in the region after a seven-year hiatus.
Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Mining Elijah Mwangi says the revival of fluorspar mining in Kimwarer is part of the execution of a deliberate game plan by the department that entails seeking strategic investors to tap into the vast potential of Kenya’s mineral resources.
Terming the investment as a timely move, the PS noted that the resumption of fluorspar mining would not only generate revenues for national and county governments but would catalyse the creation of hundreds of direct jobs for residents.
He added that the investor would also engage in community-benefitting programmes and activities through the terms agreed under the Community Development Agreement Committee (CDAC) as per the Mining Act 2016.
“We are delighted by this progress. Our aim is to ensure that mining is a profitable undertaking not only for the investors but also for the communities where the mineral resource is located. In the end, everyone should be a winner,” said the PS.
The revival of the fluorspar mine has been received with excitement by residents and leaders of Elgeyo Marakwet County, who have been agitating for the revival and activation of what they deemed as a dormant economic resource with vast economic potential.
While pledging to support this critical industry, county officials termed the planned resumption of operations as timely and pledged to create a conducive environment for the investor to operate in.
County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Lands, Physical Planning, Housing, and Urban Development Thomas Maiyo said the project had the potential to benefit the residents and would be central to accelerating development, spurring growth, and positively impacting lives in the region.
He added that the county leaders were willing and ready to assist in addressing challenges related to the project as part of ensuring the investor and the residents benefited from the fluorspar resource.
“We have long waited for this plant to roar back to life. While we are pleased with the progress made, we want to encourage the investor to fast-track the remaining processes so that the operations can start as soon as possible,” he said.
The revival of this plant will come as a relief for thousands of residents of Kimwarer villages whose livelihoods were left in limbo after the previous investor closed shop in 2016 owing to a cocktail of adverse effects, including a plunge in the demand for fluorspar that resulted in barrel-bottom prices for the mineral.
Elgeyo Marakwet is home to vast deposits of fluorspar, with mining exploration studies indicating the present mineral reserve can be exploited for a period of 40 years. The mineral is used in making refrigerants, insulating foams, and ceramics, among other uses.
Fluorspar mining is one of the oldest mining activities in the region. The mineral was discovered at Kerio Valley in the 1960s and was initially mined by the state-owned Fluorspar Company of Kenya.
However, in 1996, a Canadian investor came on board in a 20-year lease deal during a privatisation programme aimed at injecting efficiency and vitality into the mining operations. The mining operations halted temporarily in 2009 owing to a severe downturn in fluorspar prices.
They would resume a year later, only to stop in 2016, when the adverse effects of prices on the global market persisted. The investor’s lease would expire in 2018, and the fluorspar plant would be returned to the government. Since then, the plant has not been operational.
Projections by the investor show that he intends to hit an average annual production of 80,000 tonnes for the first five years before upscaling his output capacity to 100,000 tonnes in the next 15 to 20 years.
While the resumption of operations is welcome news, issues of land compensation and ownership are also set to be addressed. Aware of the need to retain investors’ confidence, the leaders have assured the residents that all their concerns will be amicably addressed.
Mr. Maiyo added that the county leadership would escalate the land and compensation discussions to higher offices to push for a win-win situation that would see hundreds of local residents, landowners, and other crucial stakeholders benefit alongside the historic revival of the plant.
“We are aware of these issues, and this is why we are engaging more stakeholders to ensure that concerns by the community are acted upon as we allow the investor to start this project,” he said.
In January, President William Ruto, during a developmental tour to the county, alluded to the transformational potential of the project and said it would open up the region economically. He also urged the residents to allow the fluorspar project to take off as their underlying concerns were being looked into.
By Wagema Mwangi
