A little government aid can go a long way in creating exploration success. As has been witnessed in places like Australia and Canada — where publicly-funded mapping and geophysics has helped private firms make billion-dollar discoveries.
And news this week suggests one upstart country on the exploration scene is taking a page from that book. The East African nation of Kenya.
Kenya’s mining regulators said Monday that planning will start this week on a national geophysical survey. The aim of this survey is to kick start mineral exploration across the country, by providing free data to private firms starting up in the country.
Officials said the initial phase of surveys will cover a large area of Kenya — including the western, eastern and coastal regions of the country. With planned work to include airborne surveys across significant swaths of the terrain here.
Regulators said the goal from this work is to create a detailed database of geological information accessible for explorers. A feature that would go a long way in advancing Kenya’s discovery potential.
Such a move would be very interesting for the international exploration community, with Kenya having noted potential for gold, copper, mineral sands, and coal. Related: To Avoid The Oil Curse, Russia Needs To Take A Leaf Out Of The Saudi’s Book
The move is all the more significant coming after Kenya instituted a new mining policy this past May — replacing the old code from 1940.
Officials said this week that all of these new initiatives will help to “market Kenya as a mineral investment hub in Africa.” Making it sound as if the government is putting on a legitimate push to attract investment to exploration and development.
The government will now reportedly create teams to oversee the initial geophysical surveys, with a planned tender for the work to be conducted afterward. Watch for more news on the progress of this key project, likely late in 2016.
Here’s to a helping hand,
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By Dave Forest
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