The discovery of rich iron ore deposits in parts of the country has increased prospects of Kenya setting up its first steel manufacturing plant.
Intensive prospecting over the past three years has yielded promising data on availability of iron ore deposits, with Kishushe Location in Taita Taveta County topping the list of areas most endowed with the natural resource. Other zones are in western Kenya.
Due to the positive find, a Chinese steel manufacturer has approached Kenyan firm Wanjala Mining Company with a proposal for partnership in the setting up of a local steel manufacturing plant.
Mining site
Wanjala Mining, which set up a Sh600 million mining site at Kishushe two years ago, says it is mulling over the proposal even as it intensifies prospecting to meet the high threshold set by the Chinese firm.
"All they want is a guarantee that we have iron ore deposits to the tune of 20 million tonnes. This is the quantity that would make such a venture, including the construction of a plant locally, economically viable," said Mr RK Sanghani, the head contractor at Wanjala Mining, during an interview.
A delegation from the Chinese company General Nice Development visited Kishushe between May 5 and 10 and after deliberations agreed to finance a feasibility study for the construction of the steel complex.
Mr Sanghani is to immediately commence consultations with various government departments to get the necessary support and approval for the proposed iron and steel project.
The Chinese firm is a major player in the industry in its home country where it has 37 smelting plants.
China is currently the world's largest consumer of steel products. Its steel manufacturing plants consume about 500 million tonnes of iron ore annually against a local supply of 100 million tonnes. The country relies on imports to meet the shortfall.
For the over two years it has been operation, Wanjala Mining harvests between 10,000-12,000 tonnes of iron ore at Kishushe which it exports to China. The firm has, however, set itself a target of 30,000 tonnes.
The revelations are set to fuel mounting interest in the mining industry, which has largely been left in the hands of cartels and a few individuals.
Far-reaching amendments
The government has lately demonstrated its willingness to change this state of affairs by proposing far-reaching amendments to the mining laws to ensure broader participation by, among others, the state and communities in the designated areas.
According to Mr Sanghani, geophysical surveys have revealed rich deposits of iron ore in the Kishushe area but the belt could be more expansive than previously thought.
The firm has been given a 21-year lease by the Taita Taveta County Council to carry out prospecting in the area, which is trust land. An application for a mining lease has been forwarded to the government.
A visit to the site reveals frenzied activity amid the deafening roar of heavy machines hacking into solid rock, tearing it apart and collecting pieces for sorting and grinding in other complicated machinery nearby.
The ground reverberates with the motion and noise of the heavy machines as red dust billows from the intensive digging work going on.
With the help of other machines fitted with magnets, the crushed stones and pebbles are sorted out and heaped together in order of their iron ore content.
"In the absence of a smelting plant, this is the furthest we can go. This is the material we export for smelting and manufacturing into steel products," Mr Sanghani says pointing at the pieces of hard rock, laden with iron ore.
Drilling machine
Besides the teams busy with harvesting the rock from underground and grinding and sorting them, another team led by a geologist is busy extracting rock samples from 40 metres underground using a special core drilling machine.
Drilling 40 metres deep at a 50 degrees angle, the machines bring out rock samples which are then analysed for the presence of iron ore.
Mining activity in the Kishushe locality has brought its share of benefits to area residents of Kishushe. The area has become more accessible with the upgrade of a 50km stretch of road from the main Mombasa-Nairobi highway to the site.
The company, which employs over 100 locals at the site, has also installed culverts on the road, making it accessible to pedestrians and matatus plying the route.
As part of its corporate social responsibility, the company also deposits Sh70 from every tonne of iron ore it exports into the Kishushe Development Trust Fund to support community projects.
With prospects of more iron ore deposits, residents of Kishushe and Taita Taveta County in general can only hope for more income from the venture.
And according to district geologist Edward Omitto, there are heavy deposits of other minerals like rubies, green garnet, sapphire and tourmaline in the area.