Infrastructure

Work Begins on Sh5.8bn Kakamega Gold Factory

The plant will place Kenya on the map of gold producing countries.

Updated on

July 5, 2024

Construction of Kenya’s first gold refinery has begun at Lidambitsa in Ikolomani, Kakamega County, intending to promote the country’s gold sub-sector.

The Kakamega Gold Refinery, whose groundbreaking was held last month, is being undertaken by a group of foreign investors for Sh5.8 billion.

The facility is expected to be in operation by June next year, offering a major boost for artisanal miners who mine gold manually under dangerous conditions.

Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Salim Mvurya, who presided over the event, disclosed that the factory will pave the way for the formalization of the artisanal miners’ activities.

“Artisanal mining has now been decriminalized and as directed by President William Ruto, we shall now support them and offer them equipment to work in a safe environment,” he said.

The joint investors, China’s Heng Nuo Rongchang Trading Company and H. Nuo Kenya Company, will build a smelter and a mineral laboratory at the 14-acre site.

The investors will enter into partnerships with artisanal gold miners’ cooperatives to extend technical support for equipment for an increase in daily productivity.

“The establishment of this gold refinery is in tandem with the vision and commitment that we hold dear to creating value-addition centres to increase the value and prices for our minerals,” the CS added.

The Kakamega Gold Refinery will provide a reliable market for artisanal miners in the gold-mining counties of Kakamega, Migori, Kisumu, Nandi, and West Pokot.

Other beneficiaries include Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, and Siaya.

To enhance sustainability, the refinery will also process gold from artisanal miners operating within the East African Community bloc and beyond.

According to the 2022 Economic Survey, Kenya’s average annual gold production stood at 360kgs from 2017 to 2021. Most of this gold is mined by artisanal miners, estimated to be over 200,000.

However, the absence of a reliable market and exploitation by deceitful brokers has condemned the miners to a life of poverty – which is what the government wants to change with the operationalization of the proposed gold refinery.

Patrick Ligami, the chair of the Kakamega County Artisanal Mining Committee, has hailed the refinery as a welcome investment for gold miners in the country.

“This is a positive win for the artisanal [miners], who should be at the heart of gold processing and operations. Once empowered to bolster their daily production, they will earn more and help the refinery to operate optimally,” he said.