Ruto says all minerals must be processed locally as government seeks greater control and revenue from mining….
Kenya is set to prohibit the export of unprocessed gold as the government moves to expand domestic refining and capture more economic value from the country’s mineral resources.
President William Ruto announced the planned policy on Monday while speaking to journalists in Kisumu, western Kenya, saying gold and other minerals extracted within the country would have to undergo local processing before they can be exported.
The proposed measure will also require gold to pass through government-approved channels, effectively giving authorities greater oversight of the country’s gold trade.
Ruto said the government intends to replicate measures already adopted by other African mineral-producing countries, particularly Ghana and Zimbabwe, which have tightened controls over raw mineral exports in an effort to increase domestic processing and government revenue.
“We’re going to make it illegal for anybody to export gold from Kenya if it’s not processed and through approved government channels,” Ruto said.
The Kenyan president said the policy would not stop at gold, stressing that the same approach would eventually cover other minerals extracted across the country.
“That’s what Ghana did and what Zimbabwe has done and that is how we are going to do it in Kenya. And not just for gold, for all minerals that we are mining in Kenya,” he said.
As part of the plan, Kenya intends to establish three gold refineries. Proposed locations include the gold-producing region of Kakamega and Nairobi.
The Central Bank of Kenya is also expected to receive first priority under a planned domestic gold-purchasing programme, potentially giving the government a more direct role in the formal gold market.
Kenya’s State Department for Mining estimates that the country produces about 300 kilogrammes of gold each month, equivalent to roughly 9,645 ounces.
At current values, the department estimates that the country’s gold trade through unregulated channels is worth about 36 billion shillings, or approximately $278 million, annually.
The scale of informal mining is a major concern for authorities. More than 90 percent of Kenya’s gold production is estimated to come from unregulated artisanal and small-scale miners.
The informal nature of much of the sector also means significant revenue is lost to the government, with the mining department estimating potential annual royalties of about 1.2 billion shillings.
Kenya’s planned restrictions come as a number of African countries seek to move away from exporting raw minerals and instead develop local processing industries.
Ghana, for instance, has intensified efforts to tighten its gold trade and expand domestic refining capacity.
The Ghana Gold Board, GoldBod, announced in August that exports of unrefined artisanal gold dore purchased under approved off-take arrangements would be prohibited from September 1, 2026. The new requirement means the gold must undergo refining in Ghana before it can be exported.
The country inaugurated the Royal Ghana Gold Refinery in Accra in August 2024, marking the establishment of its first refinery with state participation.
Ghana has also increased its direct involvement in the gold market. From July 1, 2026, GoldBod began purchasing 30 percent of gold produced by large-scale mining companies under an agreement with the Ghana Chamber of Mines.
That arrangement replaced an earlier framework under which the Ghanaian government sought to purchase 20 percent of annual output from large-scale producers.
Zimbabwe has adopted a similar strategy, with an arm of its central bank serving as the country’s sole buyer of gold.
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe also introduced restrictions on certain mineral exports in a bid to encourage mining companies to undertake more processing domestically.
Kenya’s drive for greater domestic processing is not limited to gold.
The country is also pursuing additional refining capacity in the petroleum sector, with Dangote Industries disclosing on Monday that it expects to commence work by the end of September on its proposed $17 billion oil refinery in Kenya.
The development forms part of a wider push across East Africa and the continent to reduce dependence on exports of unprocessed resources and strengthen local industrial capacity.
Mozambique is considering a proposed 200,000-barrel-per-day refinery backed by Nigerian businessman Benedict Peters, while Uganda is planning a 60,000-barrel-per-day facility aimed at meeting domestic demand and supplying neighbouring markets, including Kenya and Tanzania.
Nigeria’s experience with increased domestic refining also illustrates the potential impact of local processing on commodity trade.
Seaborne exports of refined petroleum products from Nigeria to Europe rose by about 767 percent to 130,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 15,000 barrels per day in 2023, following increased production from the Dangote refinery.
The refinery has also expanded its presence in international fuel markets. Dangote disclosed on Monday that its petroleum refinery had sold its jet fuel allocation to European markets for August and September, while the remaining stock was reserved for the Nigerian market.
For Kenya, the proposed gold policy signals a broader attempt to shift from simply extracting and exporting natural resources towards processing them at home — a strategy the government hopes will increase transparency, create additional economic activity and ensure a larger share of mineral wealth remains within the country.
