By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Nathan Ombuni
Published on 2024-01-18 02:00:00
At Musali village in Kakamega county, the sun barely pierces through the clouds, casting a faint yellow light on the dusty makeshift gold processing plant following a rainy night that did little to eliminate the dust in the air. Men are seen hoisting another out of the mineshaft, while another group of men and women pound away at muddy soil in search of gold.
Josephat Mutambo, a 61-year-old artisanal gold miner, has been in this trade since 2002, venturing into it after spending 10 years doing menial jobs on the Coast. On this day, he is working with a group of young men at a makeshift gold “refinery plant”, cleaning gold ore.
Despite the economic importance of gold mining in the region, this sector remains mostly informal, using outdated tools for extraction. Artisanal gold miners like Mutambo lament the exploitation by middlemen buying their gold at low prices and selling them in international markets for huge profits.
However, there is hope on the horizon. The government has begun constructing a refinery plant in Kakamega, in partnership with a Chinese company, H-Nuo Company Limited. The development is expected to bring structure and regulation to the sector, ensuring that miners secure higher prices for their gold.
The county of Kakamega has also signed a deal with the national government for the construction of the plant, which will see artisanal miners receive 20 percent of the revenue collected from the processed gold, along with modern mining equipment. The gold deposits in the region have been estimated to be worth billions of dollars, potentially transforming the economic landscape of the area.
This refinery project has been welcomed by local leaders, recognizing the potential for economic growth and development in the region. With the positive trajectory of the artisanal gold mining sector in Kakamega, there is hope for the future growth and prosperity of the industry in Kenya as a whole.
Read the original article on The Star
