Titanium earns Kenya Sh9bn, surpasses soda ash
What you need to know:
- Titanium was the highest earning mineral last year fetching Sh9 billion and displacing soda ash, whose value declined from Sh8.7 billion to Sh7.8 billion during the period under review due to poor production.
- The ministry of Mining plans to collect Sh1 billion from royalties by the end of the current financial year.
- In February, the ministry launched an automated system to manage licensing for mineral prospecting and collection of royalties.
Mining has recovered and contributed 14.2 per cent to the gross domestic product recorded last year.
The performance was boosted by increased earnings from sale of minerals whose value went up to Sh20.9 billion from Sh19.8 billion in 2013.
Titanium was the highest earning mineral last year fetching Sh9 billion and displacing soda ash, whose value declined from Sh8.7 billion to Sh7.8 billion during the period under review due to poor production. Total mineral output increased to 1.8 million tonnes last year from 1.5 million tonnes in 2013, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows.
PRODUCTION
“This was mainly attributed to the start of titanium ore production,” the Economic Survey report released on Wednesday said.
Gold output fell from 2.1 tonnes to 0.2 tonnes due to low export prices.
The ministry of Mining plans to collect Sh1 billion from royalties by the end of the current financial year.
AUTOMATE
Data from the ministry shows that Sh700 million worth of royalties was collected in seven months to February 2015.
In February, the ministry launched an automated system to manage licensing for mineral prospecting and collection of royalties.
The online transactional mining cadastre will be used to process fresh applications for mining rights and deal with pending applications as the government steps up the fight against graft.
The online platform was set up at a cost of Sh490 million from the United Kingdom’s department for international development.
