Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya recently announced the discovery of coltan deposits in the country in the wake of radical reforms implementation in the sector after lifting the mining moratorium.

Coltan is a technology and green mineral that is currently experiencing a surging demand due to its use as an input in the advancement of energy transition aspirations globally. The mineral is a major input in all electronic gadgets and also in energy storage batteries for car and domestic uses and is therefore experiencing supply constraints globally.

The declaration of availability of the mineral in Kenya is therefore very significant given that 70 -80 percent of all current sources of coltan are in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This announcement, according to CS Mvurya, is shaped as a marketing move and an awareness campaign to point to both local and international investors the opportunity to apply for exploration licenses to look for this critical mineral.

 Hon. Mvurya revealed that the mineral Coltan is to be found partly as Embu, Mwingi North, Kora Wells, Northern Tana River, Ikutha, West Pokot, Turkana, and Samburu.

The Cabinet Secretary also stated that the government has put in measures to expedite and ease the application of licenses, imploring investors to take up the call to explore the mining of Coltan.

“The process of issuing licenses and permits is now automated and available online. The Online Mining Cadastre Portal is manned throughout to ensure that applicants are advised when their application is received and throughout the evaluation process,” said the CS.