Kenya Announces Discovery of Coltan Deposits, Potential to boosting Mining Industry

Kenya’s Minister for Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs, Salim Mvurya, declared that the country has uncovered its first deposits of coltan, a valuable mineral crucial for manufacturing electric car batteries, mobile phones, and other electronic devices.

While the extent of the newly discovered coltan reserves in Kenya remains unclear, mining officials have previously hinted at the presence of this highly sought-after ore.

Minister Mvurya’s announcement officially confirms on Wednesday Kenya’s status as a coltan reserve holder, a distinction previously dominated by the Democratic Republic of Congo, which controls over 70% of the world’s coltan reserves.

The mineral deposits have been identified in six counties across the nation, with further assessments required to determine their economic value.

Minister Mvurya stated, “We will leave our teams behind to do ground truthing so that we can now begin to assess the economic value of that particular mineral.”

Embu County in eastern Kenya, one of the areas with coltan reserves, has advised its residents to retain their land amidst the potential economic transformation.

Minister Mvurya anticipates that this discovery will lead to job creation and an expansion of Kenya’s mining industry, aiming to boost its contribution from less than 1% to up to 10% of the country’s GDP, according to the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Coltan, once refined into metallic tantalum, becomes a heat-resistant powder crucial for capacitor production, a key component in electronic devices.