Mining invasion expected in Nairobi on Monday as Kenya Mining Forum opens

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Mining in the State Department of Mining in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, John Omenge, will address the third Kenya Mining Forum during the opening day on Monday, 12 November at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi.

The conference and exhibition will gather Kenya’s leading mining houses and industry bodies, including Base Titanium, Acacia Mining, Karebe Gold Mining, Bamburi Cement and the event host, the Kenya Chamber of Mines, to focus on mining and quarrying investment opportunities in Kenya’s counties, case studies from successful mining projects, updates on the gemstone, artisanal and small-scale sector as well as financing and regulatory challenges. The mining community will furthermore discuss how it can contribute to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda of universal health care, affordable housing, manufacturing and food security.

'We are getting the necessary support from government'
During a media briefing in the Kenyan capital on Monday, Mr Omenge stressed the role of mining in value addition and beneficiation: “we have a value addition directory within the State Department for Mining and through this directory the government has helped to develop the Voi Gemstone Value Addition Centre, which is polishing, cutting and shaving gemstones with the view to adding value and commanding a better price for us as a country.

He also announced that Kenya plans to reform its laws in order to phase out the use of mercury in artisanal gold mining: “we hope to have the law reformed in the next year and a half so that we can eliminate the use of mercury in gold mining.

During the media briefing the Vice-Chairman of the Kenya Chamber of Mines, Patrick Kanyoro, explained that the industry body was looking forward to Kenya Mining Forum: “we are happy that we are getting the necessary support from government through the State Department of Mining, because we need to address issues such as licencing, consent, royalties, export permits and general support from the regulator to the industry and I am sure this conversation will continue during Kenya Mining Forum on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Conference programme highlights of Day 1: Monday, 12 November 2018
INVESTMENT BRIEFING

Theme: Where does mining feature within Kenya’s investment deck of cards?

08:00 Steering investors into the correct legal path to fit Kenya’s mining landscape
- Andrew Mugambi, Partner, Dentons, Hamilton, Harrison & Mathews, Kenya

08:15 Discussion panellists:
- John Omenge, Principal Secretary for Mining in the State Department of Mining in the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Kenya
- Senior representative, Ken-Invest, Kenya
- Abel Chumba, Chairman, Mineral Rights Board, Kenya
- Richard Kiplagat, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director for East Africa, africapractice, Kenya
- Bahati Morara, Commercial Director, Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya
- Cynthia Sakami, Legal Officer, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya

OPENING SESSION
Theme: Unveiling mining opportunities within the ‘Big Four’ agenda: Kenya navigating the pace!

10:15 Welcome from the organisers
- Emmanuelle Nicholls, Group Director: Mining & Agriculture, Spintelligent, South Africa
10:20 Welcome remarks from the host - Kenya Chamber of Mines
- Moses Njiru Njeru, Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Chamber of Mines, Kenya
10:30 Base Titanium’s Kwale Mine - Contributing to Kenya’s Development Agenda
- Simon Wall, Acting General Manager – External Affairs, Base Titanium, Kenya
11:15 Ministerial address: Positioning Kenya as a market place to open mining businesses and generate local growth
- John Omenge, Principal Secretary, State Department of Mining, Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Kenya

Exclusive interviews with partners and sponsors of Kenya Mining Forum can be viewed on the event website.

Expo and partners
The Kenya Mining Forum exhibition is expected to be double the size of last year with more than 40 suppliers showcasing the latest local and international solutions and services for mining operations. Mining staff can hone their practical skills at the free technical workshops on the expo floor and there is a new outdoors equipment display area where some of the larger technology can be test driven.

Base Titanium is the returning exclusive diamond sponsors of the event. Other leading mining companies and industry suppliers at the event are Acacia, Barron, Panafrican Group and Total as gold sponsors while ESS Equipment and Maptek are silver sponsors.

Kenya Mining Forum dates and location:
Conference and expo: 12-13 November 2018
Venue: Safari Park Hotel & Casino, Nairobi, Kenya

Kenya Mining Forum is organised by Spintelligent Ltd, a Cape Town based company recognised internationally for organising world class mining, infrastructure development, energy and agri events around the continent, including long-running flagship shows such as DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, Nigeria Mining Week in Abuja, Future Energy East Africa (formerly EAPIC) in Nairobi, Future Energy Nigeria (formerly WAPIC) in Lagos, African Utility Week in Cape Town and Agritech Expo Zambia. Spintelligent is part of UK-based Clarion Events.

Senior communications manager: Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone: +27 21 700 3558
Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.com
Website: http://www.kenyaminingforum.com
Postal address: PO Box 321, Steenberg, 7947, South Africa

This release was published on openPR.