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Traders protest to Joho over denied mineral export permits, royalties
Though mining has been present in the country for over 50 years, productivity has remained low, with a scale of operations limited to soda ash, mineral sands, and from 2013 Titanium ores in Kwale.
Traders in minerals have protested a sustained freeze on export permits by the State Department of Mining (SDM), terming it an illegality after the High Court quashed all new regulations introduced by the government, including licensing and royalties.
The dealers, through the Kenya Chamber of Mines (KCM), said they have been denied export permits by the State, resulting in losses due to a pile-up of unsold stocks.
“The continued actions by SDM of denying our clients’ members export permits further pose a threat to existing and potentially new jobs in the mining sector, forex inflow from exports, and lack of tax revenue, among a myriad of other foreseeable threats to the Kenyan economy at large,” Africa Legal Partners, a law firm representing KCM said in a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Hassan Joho.
The traders also complained that the SDM continued to charge higher royalties on their products even though the High Court had quashed new regulations that had set the higher fees.
“While our client fully supports lawful regulation of the sector and is fully aware of their obligation to the state to pay the various royalties, taxes, and levies, the current approach and actions appear unconstitutional, illegal, punitive, and disproportionate,” the law firm said.
The traders claimed that the State Department of Mining ignored a negotiated deal to regularise orders made by the High Court over 90 days.
As part of a deal between KCM and the Mining Department, the quashed royalty rates and mineral development levy (MDL) would remain in force for 90 days.
It was agreed that the MDL would be a rate of one percent for the period, while all other fees would revert to the 2017 rates. All other 2024 Mining Regulation would remain annulled.
The parties further agreed that all exports would resume immediately and new regulations prepared and adopted within three months.
They also had a consensus that the new regulations would have lower rates than those that had been proposed in the annulled Mining Regulations 2024 with any excess royalties and MDL paid to be offset within 90 days.
“The actions by SDM disrupt livelihoods, discourage legitimate investment, and undermine the trust that should exist between SDM and the people it serves,” Africa Legal Partners said.
The High Court on September 10, 2025, quashed new regulations introduced by the State to revamp the mining sector, including an increase of application fees for large-scale prospectors and miners ninefold from Sh50,000 to Sh500,000 for some ores.
The court said the Mining Regulations 2024, which comprised five key segments, were unconstitutional as the principle of public participation was not complied with during their enactment.
“The regulations are collectively unconstitutional and in violation of the Constitution. The regulations are invalid and unenforceable. The mining regulations 2024 are quashed for violating Article 10 of the Constitution,” said Justice Bahati Mwamuye.
Article 10 mandates public participation in policymaking, transparency, and accountability for all State organs.
Among the changes introduced by the Ministry of Mining through the regulations is raising mineral dealership licence application fees for large-scale prospectors and miners from Sh50,000 to Sh500,000 for some precious metals, in a bid to keep away speculators and free up space for big-ticket investors.
The higher fees aimed to curb frequent reapplications by prospectors seeking to resell mining rights.
The government had also introduced a royalty chargeable on the gross value of the extracted minerals, ranging from one percent for cut gemstones, to eight percent for rare earth minerals.
The rate for coal was set at seven percent, and rough gemstones at six percent of gross sales. Royalties for Metallic ores (copper, zinc, aluminium, vanadium, manganese), Titanium mineral sand, titanium ores, and zircon were five percent.
The lowest royalty was cut gemstones at one percent, followed by cement and salt at 1.6 percent, while clinker was charged at two percent.
The regulations included Gemstone Identification and Value Addition fees, License and Permit Amendment, Dealings in minerals amendment, Mine Support Services (Amendment), and Royalty collection & Management (Amendment).
They were introduced as part of the government’s initiative to regulate and reform mining activities, including licensing, dealing, state participation, exploration, and use of mineral assets.
Additionally, regulations were intended to facilitate gemstone identification and value addition, a strategic minerals list was re-emphasised, and the overall fee structure for permits and licenses was revised to achieve this.
However, KCM challenged the development in court, describing the regulations as unjust and detrimental to the mining industry. They accused the ministry of introducing the changes without considering industry players’ input.
The lobby argued that the method of calculating royalty based on the full market value of minerals, considering enhancements for saleability, and using various calculation methods (netback, cost plus, etc.) might lead to disagreements. The organisation represents the interests of miners, exploration companies, mineral traders, suppliers, and professionals in Kenya.
The ministry, however, maintained that the regulations were central to catalysing the growth and development of Kenya’s mining sector and to curbing illegal mining.
It said the rules were meant to address issues such as unlicensed mining in the country and illegal exploitation of strategic minerals.
Though mining has been present in the country for over 50 years, productivity has remained low, with a scale of operations limited to soda ash, mineral sands, and from 2013 Titanium ores in Kwale.
The country is also believed to hold significant deposits of copper, coltan, niobium, manganese, and rare earth minerals which largely remain under-exploited, dwarfing the mining sector’s contribution to the national economic output.
Kenya has declared a section of its minerals as strategic, including cobalt, graphite, copper, tantalum, lithium, Niobium, coltan, nickel, and tin. Others are radio-active minerals like uranium and thorium, tsavorite, rare earth minerals, and chromite.
Holders of minerals rights who get the strategic minerals which they are not permitted to explore or mine are required to “immediately” report the discovery to the Cabinet Secretary for Mining.
Section 31(d) of the Mining Act 2016 requires Mining CS powers to advise and seek approval from the Cabinet to declare certain minerals or mineral deposits as strategic, while Section 31(d) of the same law allows the Mineral Rights Board to recommend to the CS to declare certain minerals strategic.
