The building of a mining career from humble start

Stephen Kuria is wearing a white tracksuit as he sits for an interview with Lifestyle from Perth, Australia, via a video call. With Perth five hours ahead of Nairobi, he is about to wind up a Wednesday that is just warming up in Kenya.

It is hard to miss the symbolism in Mr Kuria’s manner of dressing­­­ -- it is sports that took him to Australia. From the 1980s, Mr Kuria was a top weightlifter and a runner who was also involved in training other athletes.

His talent saw him receive an invitation to Australia in 1990 after the Australian Olympic Council asked him to train athletes as the country prepared for the 1992 Barcelona Games. Then, he was fresh from Utalii College, where he had studied hospitality.

That trip to Perth started a process whose result today is a man in his 50s from Gatundu North, Kiambu County, who has worked with various corporates in Australia, obtained university education, is running businesses and consultancies, among other endeavours he has been juggling for years.

His engagements in Australia might explain why his name appeared in the Kenya Gazette issue of May 3, 2019.

Mineral Rights Board

“I, Uhuru Kenyatta, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint Stephen Kuria to be the chairperson of the Mineral Rights Board for a period of three years with effect from May 3, 2019,” reads part of the gazette notice.

The law the President cited while appointing Mr Kuria dictates that the chairman appointee should have at least 10 years of experience in the mining sector and to have “demonstrable knowledge and experience of the minerals and mining sector”.

For a man who has worked with mining firms such as Barrick Gold Corporation (currently worth Sh4.7 trillion according to Forbes) and BHP (worth around Sh10 trillion) before starting his own mining businesses and consultancies, Mr Kuria earned his place to be among the top candidates the President considered as the first chairman of the board created by a law enacted in 2016.

He now leads a nine-member team that advises the Mining Cabinet secretary on, among other things, who can and cannot carry out mining activities in Kenya. Mr Kuria is grateful to President Kenyatta for the opportunity to bring back home the expertise he has gained in the global mining industry.

In the virtual interview with Lifestyle, he was clear about the aspirations for his pioneering role in a position that has the potential to make or break Kenya’s troubled mining sector. The decision to take up the presidential appointment reminded him of another choice almost 30 years ago.

Patriotic spirit

Were it not for the patriotic spirit burning within him and his fellow Kenyan invited to Australia in 1990, he could have taken Australian citizenship and represented the country in the 1992 Olympics.

“Our aim was to train the Australian team that was going to Barcelona and through that, they really wanted us to stay here. But being patriotic as we were, we said No and decided not to run for Australia,” said Mr Kuria.

Regardless, he says, the two of them were allowed to stay in Australia under relaxed visa rules. He attributes this to the high social status accorded to athletes in Australia. There, he said, sportspeople draw more interest from the masses than politicians.

“A lot of value is attached to sportsmen and women,” noted Mr Kuria. “It’s inverse to what you see in Kenya, where everybody chases after politicians and no one cares about athletes.”

When he landed in Australia, legendary Kenyan athlete Yobes Ondieki was also based there, having married an Australian athlete. Mr Ondieki registered a number of feats for Kenya in athletics, among them being the first man in 10 years to bear Morocco’s Said Aouita in the 5,000 metres race in 1989. And in 1993, he shattered the 27-minute barrier in the 10,000 metres race in Oslo at the Bislett Games Grand Prix.

The Kenyan community Down Under, he said, is growing steadily. Mr Kuria reckoned that Kenyans living in Australia are among those sending the highest amount of money back home. He believes that Kenyans in Australia are generally well-off because the government insists that immigrants have to complete their studies. That opens the way for employment opportunities.

If the money remitted to Kenya from other countries is divided by the population of Kenyans in those countries, he said, Kenyans in Australia will emerge tops.

“Per person, those in Australia send more money to Kenya,” he said.

Running a curio shop

Having established himself in Australia after going there as a coach, Mr Kuria ventured into business. His first endeavour was running a curio shop. He would import items from Zimbabwe, India, Kenya among other countries then sell them in Australia.

Afterwards, he discovered that there was an opportunity in educating Australians about African culture, and that is how he started the Kilimanjaro African Gallery.

“It was during that time that I happened to meet someone in the mining industry and they invited me to one of the states, which is a three-hours flight from Perth,” said Mr Kuria.

Mining is a big industry in Australia. According to a post on the Australia parliament’s website, the country is the world’s biggest producer of bauxite, alumina, rutile and tantalum. It is the second largest producer of uranium, lead, ilmenite, zircon and lithium. It produces dozens of other minerals that include iron ore, zinc, black coal, gold, manganese, aluminium, diamonds, silver and copper.

“I went there and got myself working in the mining industry. From there, I’ve just been mining. I had to close my (curio) shops because I couldn’t operate both,” said Mr Kuria.

His entry into the mining world saw him work as the Australia-Africa business improvement manager for mining firm Barrick Gold from 2005 to 2007. The company has had a presence in western Kenya for years through its subsidiary, Acacia Exploration, though it decided to sell its businesses earlier this year.

“It was the largest gold mining company in the world,” Mr Kuria said.

He then moved to BHP, a mining firm, where he worked as business improvement manager from 2007 to 2010.

After leaving BHP in 2010, he decided to set up his own business, opening a consultancy in the mining sector.

Among the companies he consulted with is Texas-based Baker and Hughes, where he worked as a contractor for four years up to 2014. He has also consulted with several companies and governments on mining, and oil and gas.

In between, Mr Kuria has been running the Caleb Partners Group of Companies under which there are a number of firms. Australia-Africa Energy and Mineral Institute, one of the companies, has previously organised a six-month training of Kenya Pipeline Company welders.

“Unlike conventional welding, which is widely practised, this is a highly specialised form of welding that is done on petroleum pipelines. For a long time, Kenya has only had three qualified pipelines welders, all employees of KPC,” Mr Kuria told the Business Daily, adding that the training would stop the trend where contractors hired foreigners for the welding task.

Under Caleb Partners, Mr Kuria said, there are 14 consultants working across the globe. It also has employees in Kenya.

A father of two, Mr Kuria travelled to Perth from Nairobi a few days after the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya in March. He noted that Australia has largely been able to contain the spread of the virus partly due to strict quarantine rules for those who enter the country and a robust healthcare system. However, there has been a recent rise in the number of reported cases in some areas of the vast country, particularly the State of Victoria that includes Melbourne.

“Here (in Perth) we don’t wear masks,” he said.

Mr Kuria said the strong mining sector in Australia is one of the reasons the country has kept its head above the water amid the pandemic.

“Mining is still exporting very heavily and it’s a number one product seller. That’s why it’s not going to face recession. So, that’s the game-changing potential of mining,” he said.

A post on Australia’s parliament website says: “Mining has long been a cornerstone of the Australian economy and the gold rushes were pivotal in the early development of the country.”

It adds: “Today, the Australian minerals sector accounts for eight per cent of gross domestic product.”

Mr Kuria dreams of a time when mining will boost Kenya’s earnings more than it does at the moment.

“Mining can change the economy of Kenya,” he said, matter-of-factly. “It can actually get us out of Covid-19. To give you the scenario, we have an asset in Kenya which is worth Sh6 trillion.”

A 2017 report by the Ministry of Mining shows that Kenya’s mineral treasures include soda ash in Lake Magadi, fluorspar in Kerio valley, gold in Migori, Narok, Marsabit, Samburu and West Pokot counties; diatomite in Kariandusi, gemstones in 11 counties and titanium in Kwale and Kilifi.

“Over many years, Kenya has not benefited fully from its mineral potential and the sector has been contributing less than one per cent to the country’s GDP, until production of titanium-bearing mineral sands commenced in Kwale County and began to add another close to one per cent to the GDP,” said the report on the country’s mining vision gap.

Mr Kuria believes Kenya’s minerals have a potential to earn the country a lot more.

“I believe mining can achieve more than 10 per cent of Kenya’s GDP, if you include what we call industrial minerals,” he said.

As the chairman of the Mineral Rights Board, he will be on the driving seat of the body that should advise the minister, currently Mr John Munyes, on who deserves to run minefields in Kenya. He said the board will play a big role in approving the mining list.

“If you want to mine, say, soapstone in Kisii, you have to make an application and we are the ones who do due diligence and do approval,” he said.

The Mining Act says they are supposed to advise the Cabinet secretary in writing about natural treasures except oil and gas. The board will have a say on rights awarded or suspended, areas suitable for mining, declaring which minerals should be considered strategic, action to be taken to those with mining licences, the fees and royalties that should apply to certain minerals, among others.

During his term, Mr Kuria hopes to deal with illegal miners. He said anyone seeking to prospect for minerals needs to apply for a licence from the ministry. If they meet the requirements, especially by proving that they have the wherewithal to conduct such a business, they are then given the green light.

“The other big challenge is that we have lots of briefcase mining people; people running around and conning others,” he said.

He added that there are also others holding licences for the sake of it, noting that the matter also needs to be addressed.

Also, there is the wanton use of dangerous chemicals especially among the gold-mining populations.

“My dream is to ensure that we are mining in a professional manner, eliminating cyanide and mercury that are very harmful to people and the environment,” said Mr Kuria. “My dream is to turn the mining to be bigger than oil and gas, and also ensure that 47 million Kenyans get the benefits of the industry.”

So, is he still engaged in sports?

“I’m still in touch; that’s why I am in a tracksuit,” he answered.  “I still train, although I like golf more.”

He added that he has maintained contact with veteran weightlifting coach Pius Ochieng in Kenya.

The chairman of the Kenya-Australia Chamber of Commerce also had some advice to entrepreneurs.

“I always say the difference between you and a millionaire, sometimes, is the discipline of doing things. So, I always work with a couple of Ds. One is discipline and dedication. Then also, decisions,” he said.

“I always encourage young people to make decisions early. Once you make that decision, dedicate yourself and discipline yourself to it. With resilience, you will find good things. That’s the same thing with mining: You are going into the ground and saying. ‘I think there is gold here.’ You make a decision to dig that hole. You have to be dedicated to see it through, and you might not even get anything,” added Mr Kuria.

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