The Government is generating an updated mineral map that will act as the mining investment blueprint for Kenya to inform critical decisions, as well as offer a roadmap for engaging local, regional and international mineral investors.

This development comes after years-long documentation of new minerals followed by recent intensive ground-truthing field activities led by teams of geologists from the State Department for Mining.

The teams have been working in 24 counties for mapping, extraction and testing of various samples of minerals discovered during the four-year National Aerial Geophysics Survey (NAGS) completed in 2022.

Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Mining, Elijah Mwangi, says geologists deployed to the counties have been working tirelessly to complete the mapping and mineral confirmatory exercise as part of enabling the preparation of data-driven reports on their findings to feed into the formulation of the final mineral map.

‘With the teams’ findings, we are confident we will come-u
p with a mineral map indicating the true nature of Kenya’s mineral wealth. This will be a critical tool in engaging investors. Data on locations, mineral type, distribution, volumes and value are key parameters for marketing Kenya as a mining destination,’ he said.

The PS added that the Department was pulling-out all the stops to give Kenya her most modern mineral map to achieve the overall objective of accelerating growth, attracting streams of investments and creating job opportunities in the mining sector, as a way of driving the country’s economic transformation.

Completion of Kenya’s mineral map is being viewed as a major score for the country in the global arena at a time when the race for discovery of minerals is at an all-time high.

The technological revolution has seen countries across the world scramble to acquire critical stakes in extraction and ownership of critical minerals that are key to driving the advancement in digital evolution, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and harnessing the competitiv
e advantage in adoption of green-energy transition.

With the recent discovery of strategic minerals like Coltan, Nickel and Copper amongst others that are vital in use of modern technology, the country is also expected to take a center stage in promoting the local, regional and global manufacturing industry for digital products such as computers, tablets, cell phones and cameras.

While the updating of Kenya’s mineral map is a key undertaking by the mining Department, the homestretch that brought the activity to the head came after the government carried out the National Aerial Geophysics Survey (NAGS). This involved the use of specialized sensing equipment borne by aircrafts to survey on mineral anomalies found in Kenya’s land mass.

The exercise started in 2018 and completed in 2022, leading to the discovery of 970 anomalies, indicating potential presence of minerals across various counties.

The aerial survey was followed by the deployment of teams of geologists in a ‘boots-in-the-ground’ exercise dubbed
as ground-truthing.

It entails sending geologists to remote regions characterized by hostile and often inaccessible terrain, rocky hills and inhospitable zones, sometimes teeming with wild animals.

Currently, the teams have been working in locations in regions where the anomalies were discovered to conduct the actual confirmatory checks and testing to ascertain the types, value, distribution and volumes of the mineral resource.

In mining circles, this exercise is critical to establish if the minerals have occurred in viable quantities for active extraction and, in the process, transform the deposit into a bankable mineral resource.

Mr. Enoch Kipseba, the Director of Geological Survey and Geo-Information Management, says the confirmatory activities is the penultimate step towards the generation of mineral data and other relevant information for enriching the mineral map.

He adds that apart from the teams of geologists deployed to the 24 counties, county-based geologists and mineral experts were also engag
ed in assessment of mineral occurrences to provide crucial data for mineral potential in the regions they operate from.

‘With sufficient and verified data, we will be able to build on the existing maps and give a true picture of the mineral resource,’ he notes.

The generation of an accurate and detailed mineral map is a capital-intensive scientific venture that calls for massive deployment of both human and capital resources. Due to the costly nature of such an undertaking, the process of doing a major update on the mineral resource often takes several years to complete.

Additionally, the discovery and confirmation of presence of new minerals is a process that might take several years, thereby, adding to the layers of formidable challenges facing this critical activity.

The recorded history of Kenya’s mineral map goes back to the independence era. The original mineral map was first developed in 1969 by Kenya’s geologists under the Commissioner of Mines. The map would be revised 16 years later in 1985 befo
re the last major revision was done in 2001.

Over the years, there have been minor updates guided by discoveries of assorted minerals especially in new areas. However, those updates and the results of the current ground-truthing exercise and the county mineral assessment will reflect in the updated mineral map that is being finalized.

Source: Kenya News Agency