Kenya mineral earnings sink to decade-low amid titanium slowdown

Kenya’s mining industry has posted its weakest earnings in almost ten years, with total mineral value dropping to Sh20.3 billion in 2025 after a sharp slowdown in titanium production from Kwale County reshaped the sector’s performance.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that mineral earnings have been on a downward path for three consecutive years, easing from Sh33.8 billion in 2023 to Sh25.5 billion in 2024, before settling at Sh20.3 billion in 2025, the lowest level since 2016.

The fall in value came at a time when production activity in parts of the sector was picking up, creating a mismatch between output and revenue.

The Economic Survey 2026 reports that the mining and quarrying sector bounced back strongly in 2025, expanding by 14.9 percent after shrinking by 7.8 percent in 2024.

This placed it among the best-performing sectors in the economy. The growth, however, was largely driven by low-value materials used in local industries rather than export minerals that traditionally bring in higher earnings.

Demand from the construction industry played a major role in lifting output. The sector expanded by 6.8 percent, pushing cement production up by 18.0 percent to 10.4 million tonnes. This increase boosted extraction of raw materials such as limestone and other inputs used in cement manufacturing.

Even with the rise in production, earnings continued to fall due to weaker international prices and reduced output of high-value minerals. Titanium remained the main export earner, but its contribution dropped sharply during the year. “Titanium ores and concentrates continued to account for the largest share of the total value of mineral output,” the Economic Survey 2026 notes, highlighting how dependent the sector remains on a single mineral.

The value of titanium exports fell to Sh7.8 billion in 2025, down from Sh17.0 billion in 2024 and far below the Sh28.3 billion peak recorded in 2022. The decline has been linked to lower global prices and the gradual winding down of operations in Kwale County, which has long been the country’s main source of titanium.

Despite the fall in earnings, employment trends in the sector moved in a different direction. Wage jobs in private mining and quarrying increased by 2 percent in 2025, while average pay rose by 6 percent. This suggests that the rise in production activity is still feeding into improved incomes for workers, even as overall sector value continues to shrink.