Kenya

2024 Report

Full data release with tables here.

In 2024, Kenya was estimated as the world's fourth-ranked producer of rutile accounting for 9% of global production, and fourth-ranked producer of natural soda ash accounting for 1% of global production. Other mineral commodities produced in the country included aluminum (secondary), gold, ilmenite, lead, raw steel, steel products, zirconium, and industrial minerals such as cement, clays, diatomite, gemstones, gypsum, lime, salt, sand and gravel, and sulfur. Data on mineral production are in the Production table (formerly table 1). Mining and quarrying accounted for about 0.7% of Kenya’s gross domestic product. Kenya mainly exported natural soda ash to India and Pakistan, and titanium ores and concentrates to India, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2025a, p. 37; b, p. 172–173; Ewing, 2026; MacGregor, 2026).  

The legislative framework for the mineral sector in Kenya is provided by the Mining Act 2016. The State Department for Mining, under the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, oversees the mineral sector and regulates the management of Kenya’s extractive industries, by developing mining policies, mapping the country’s mineral resources, and strengthening capacity to manage mining programs and projects.​ Most mineral commodities were produced by private domestic companies. The Facilities table (formerly table 2) is a list of major mineral industry facilities (National Council for Law Reporting, 2022, p. 209; Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, 2025). More-extensive coverage of Government policies and programs can be found in previous editions of this chapter in the U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, volume III, Area Reports—International—Africa and the Middle East, which are available at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/afric…;

Commodity Review 

Titanium and Zirconium.—Base Titanium Ltd., a subsidiary of Base Resources Ltd. of Australia, ceased all mining operations in December 2024. Operations came to an end after the Kwale mine’s ore reserves were depleted. Kwale was Kenya’s only large‑scale titanium‑mineral producer. At yearend 2024, Base Titanium was preparing for the transition to mine closure, focusing on decommissioning infrastructure, land rehabilitation, and environmental restoration. In 2024, Kenya exported 62% of zirconium ores and concentrates to China and 38% to Spain. Kenya's titanium ores and concentrates exports in 2023 (the latest year for which data were available) totaled 293,104 metric tons (t), with China as the main destination receiving 71% of exports followed by Japan (9%) and the Netherlands (8%) (Base Titanium Ltd., 2025; World Bank, The, 2026b, c). 

Soda Ash.— Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd. (an indirect subsidiary of the Tata Group of India) continued producing soda ash from trona extracted at Lake Magadi. The company, which was the sole producer of soda ash in Kenya, processed trona into soda ash, which was then transported by rail to the Port of Mombasa for export to international markets. In 2024, production was 264,921 t compared with 240,784 t in 2023. In 2024, Kenya exported 249,000 t of soda ash (reported as disodium carbonate), with 32% exported to Thailand, 28% to India, and 10% each to Tanzania and Uganda (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2025a, p. 229; Tata Chemicals Ltd., 2025; World Bank, The, 2026a). 

Production table

(Metric tons, gross weight, unless otherwise specified)

References Cited 

• Base Titanium Ltd., 2025, Base Titanium: Ukunda, Kenya, Base Titanium Ltd. (Accessed December 30, 2025, at https://basetitanium.com/.)  

• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2025a, Economic survey 2024: Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 555 p. (Accessed December 29, 2025, at https://www.knbs.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2025-Economic-Survey….)  

• Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2025b, Statistical abstract 2024: Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 398 p. (Accessed December 29, 2025, at https://www.knbs.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-Statistical-Abst….) 

• Ewing, S.M., 2026, Titanium mineral concentrates: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 198–199.  

• MacGregor, JohnRyan, 2026, Soda ash: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, p. 174–175. 

• Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, 2025, Background information: Nairobi, Kenya, Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs. (Accessed December 29, 2025, at https://mining.go.ke/background-information.) 

• National Council for Law Reporting, 2022, Mining Act: Nairobi, Kenya, National Council for Law Reporting, No. 71 (Acts No. 12), p. 209–324. (Accessed December 29, 2025, via https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2016/12/eng%402022-12-31?.) 

• Tata Chemicals Ltd., 2025, About: Mumbai, India, Tata Chemicals Ltd. (Accessed December 31, 2025, at https://www.tatachemicals.com/kenya/about.) 

• World Bank, The, 2026a, Kenya—Exports of Disodium carbonate (HS 283620), WITS Comtrade Database: Washington, DC, The World Bank. (Accessed June 18, 2026, at https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/KEN/year/2024/trad….) 

• World Bank, The, 2026b, Kenya—Exports of Titanium (HS 261400), WITS Comtrade Database: Washington, DC, The World Bank. (Accessed June 18, 2026, at https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/KEN/year/2023/trad….) 

• World Bank, The, 2026c, Kenya—Exports of Zirconium (HS 261510), WITS Comtrade Database: Washington, DC, The World Bank. (Accessed June 18, 2026, at https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/KEN/year/2024/trad….)