Sharp Daily
No Result
View All Result
Friday, July 11, 2025
  • Home
  • News
    • Politics
  • Business
    • Banking
  • Investments
  • Technology
  • Startups
  • Real Estate
  • Features
  • Appointments
  • About Us
    • Meet The Team
Sharp Daily
  • Home
  • News
    • Politics
  • Business
    • Banking
  • Investments
  • Technology
  • Startups
  • Real Estate
  • Features
  • Appointments
  • About Us
    • Meet The Team
No Result
View All Result
Sharp Daily
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Kenya lifts mining ban, cracks down on 3,000 illegal operations

Brian Murimi by Brian Murimi
October 4, 2023
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read

The Kenyan government on Wednesday ended a four-year nationwide ban on new mining licenses, a major policy shift aimed at revitalizing the country’s mining industry and boosting its contribution to economic growth.

The moratorium, imposed in December 2019, froze permitting for all new mining projects while Kenya conducted reforms of its outdated mining regulations. Its lifting signals renewed opportunities for investment in construction materials, industrial minerals and gemstones across the East African nation.

“The moratorium has been lifted on all construction and industrial minerals,” said Mining Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya in a statement. He listed 55 minerals and rocks like limestone, gypsum, granite and various gemstones that can now be freely mined under new permits.

But the government will maintain tight restrictions on so-called “strategic minerals” including gold, copper, rare earth metals and others. These will be handled on a “case-by-case basis,” Mvurya said, requiring scrutiny by mining officials before extraction is approved.

RELATEDPOSTS

Why Kenya must strengthen its borders to disrupt the illicit gold economy

June 12, 2025

Ministry of Agriculture lifts one-year Macadamia export ban to stabilize prices

October 23, 2024

The bifurcated approach aims to balance Kenya’s economic development needs with concerns over the environmental impacts, governance and revenues from mining its most precious natural resources.

As part of reforms underway, over 3,000 illegal mining operations across the country have been issued stop orders, Mvurya noted.

Read more: Four unlicensed fuel depots shut down in dawn raid

To improve oversight, the government is establishing a dedicated police unit focused on enforcing mining regulations and preventing the rampant smuggling of minerals out of the country.

“Mineral smuggling has been declared an economic crime and punishable as such,” Mvurya emphasized. Better enforcement is key to ensuring Kenya benefits from its resource wealth.

The government also aims to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining, which provides income for an estimated 100,000 Kenyans but has often operated outside the law.

“Artisanal mining activities has been decriminalized,” Mvurya explained. “Directed to form marketing cooperatives for consideration on issuance of Artisanal Mining Permits.”

Bringing artisanal miners into a legal, regulated system is a major goal of the reforms. But mining companies of all sizes will face stricter requirements before resuming extraction, like updating ownership documents, tax compliance and inspection of mineral shipments.

“We want to thank all investors and players in this sector for their patience during this period of reforms,” Mvurya said. He pledged that stakeholder engagement will continue in the weeks ahead as further changes are considered.

Email your news TIPS to editor@thesharpdaily.com

Previous Post

How granular portfolio diversification can lead to better investment returns

Next Post

NSE defends market viability following Bloomberg’s scathing review

Brian Murimi

Brian Murimi

Brian Murimi is a journalist with major interests in covering tech, corporates, startups and business news. When he's not writing, you can find him gaming, watching football or sipping a nice cup of tea. Send tips via bireri@thesharpdaily.com

Related Posts

Business

Del Monte foods files for bankruptcy in USA

July 3, 2025
News

Private vs Public Pension Funds in Kenya

June 30, 2025
Investments

Investor shift to long term bonds drives oversubscription in CBK’s reopened auction

June 19, 2025
News

The real price of Israel – Iran Conflict for Kenya.

June 19, 2025
Economy

Resilient but strained: Kenyan firms speak out in May 2025 CEO survey.

June 19, 2025
News

Co-op Bank posts KES 6.9 billion profit in Q1’2025

May 16, 2025

LATEST STORIES

Why Employers Should Prioritize Pensions Over One-Time Gratuity Payments

July 10, 2025
Business and Finance Concept - Coin, Currency, Financial Item, Graph,

Opinion: Why lower taxes may be Kenya’s only escape route

July 10, 2025

Nvidia becomes the first company globally to hit USD 4.0 trillion market value

July 10, 2025

Privatization in Kenya: A new dawn for capital markets and fiscal stability

July 10, 2025

How Kenya is future-proofing its economy against illicit finance

July 9, 2025

The importance of Investment Policy Statements (IPS) for pension schemes in Kenya

July 4, 2025

Understanding Life Cover as an Additional Benefit in Retirement Benefit Schemes

July 4, 2025

Del Monte foods files for bankruptcy in USA

July 3, 2025
  • About Us
  • Meet The Team
  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Email us: editor@thesharpdaily.com

Sharp Daily © 2024

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Politics
  • Business
    • Banking
  • Investments
  • Technology
  • Startups
  • Real Estate
  • Features
  • Appointments
  • About Us
    • Meet The Team

Sharp Daily © 2024