There is relatively little mining activity in Kenya; mining accounts for less than 1% of GDP. Soda ash is extracted at a large plant at Lake Magadi. The country is believed to have significant titanium deposits. The Government has granted Tiomin Kenya rights to mine titanium at Kwale on Kenya’s southern coast. There have been numerous calls for liberalisation of mining.
In Kenya, limestone is the principle material quarried, alongside sandstone, soapstone, granite, marble and gypsum. Found in the Tala-Kangundo area of Kenya, artisanal stone quarrying has grown rapidly in recent years. Small-scale artisanal quarries currently produce 95 per cent of building stone in the country. The majority of houses, regardless of household income, are constructed with these stones, generally limestone. Most small-scale quarries in Kenya use manual mining techniques, although blasting is often used in stone quarries before the stone is split and sized.
