The valuable mineral coltan has been found in Kenya, according to the minister of mining. This rare mineral is used to make electronic devices such as cell phones and batteries for electric cars.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, a longtime hotbed of violent conflict in the country’s east, is home to more than 70% of the world’s reserves of coltan.
It is unknown how much coltan is deposited in Kenya.
Mining Minister Salim Mvurya of Kenya said on Wednesday that his announcement essentially meant that Kenya has reserves of coltan, despite previous suggestions from mining officials that the country might contain traces of the extremely valuable ore.
Asaase News was informed by a source with knowledge of the development that “the national leadership has also been served and the constituency executives received this fresh document on Tuesday.”
Although deposits of the mineral have been discovered nationwide in six counties, their exact value is unknown. “We will dispatch our teams to conduct ground truthing, enabling us to commence evaluating the economic worth of that specific mineral,” stated Mvurya.
One of the six counties in eastern Kenya that has reserves of the mineral, Embu County, has advised its citizens to hang onto their land.
A privately owned East African newspaper quoted county MP Nebart Muriuki as saying, “If you want to benefit, you should not sell your land. A precious mineral has been found here.” Mr Mvurya said the discovery was expected to create more jobs and expand Kenya’s mining industry.
Although it currently contributes less than 1% of Kenya’s GDP, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) estimates that mining could contribute up to 10% of the country’s GDP.
Refined coltan is commonly used to make metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that is used to make capacitors, which are then used to make electronic devices.
Coltan’s price is based on the amount of tantalum it contains, but Forbes reports that a kilogram of the rare ore usually costs $48 (£37). Analysts claim that rival militias fighting for control of mines that yield valuable minerals like coltan are the cause of the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. On a global scale, coltan is becoming increasingly in demand.
