State demands action from cement firms on mine rehabilitation efforts

WAGEMA MWANGI -PCO

Cement manufacturers along the Coast have been directed to present updated rehabilitation plans for lime stone mines as part of environmental restoration. 

This initiative is part of the government’s drive to address the dangers posed by open mining pits created by cement producers.

“We are implementing plans to rehabilitate our exhausted mines to restore the land to its original state. We are using resilient plants that adapt well to both marine and terrestrial environments,” said Dr. Philip Omenge, a biodiversity conservation specialist at Mombasa Cement Company. 

This giant company is among several cement makers in the Coast region that have been tasked by the government with pro viding an updated plan for the rehabilitation of exhausted limestone mines as part of their obligation towards environmental restoration. 

Other companies re quired to submit such plans include Bamburi and Simba Cement. Recently, abandoned mines and retired mineral pits have been identified by the government as a major threat due to their long-lasting adverse effects on the environment. 

Once minerals are de pleted and production stops, crafty investors are reluctant to spend their money on a venture with zero returns, leading them to abandon old mines un attended as they seek new mining grounds. 

Such abandoned mines are a product of investors’ failure to implement post mine land rehabilitation plans—detailed actions that outline activities and programs aimed at rehabilitating and restoring a degraded environment. 

Land restoration is a central tenet of the Mining Act, Cap 306, while a rehabilitation plan is one of the key basic conditions to be fulfilled before a mining license is issued to an investor. 

The Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Mining, Elijah Mwangi, stated that environmental concerns must never take a backseat to the need for investors to generate revenue. He stated that post mine land rehabilitation plans and approvals by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) are mandatory requirements before a mining license is issued to investors. 

“The post-mine rehabilitation plan is mandatory for granting a license. All investors are duty-bound by law to restore all the mined-out zones and ensure they are in pristine condition or even better than they were before mining commenced,” he explained.

In Kenya, the implementation of land resto ration plans by mining investors has been a sluggish process or one that is sometimes ignored altogether. 

As a result, years of quarrying, excavations, dredging and rock-blasting have led to the exponential mushrooming of thousands of abandoned pits scattered across all the 47 counties. 

Such open pits are a great threat not only to the environment but also to communities, livestock and property. Recently, the perils of abandoned mining pits became a national discourse after the discovery of macabre killings and mutilated bodies dumped in an open quarry in the Kware area of Nairobi.