Magadi Soda mining plant where soda ash is mined and exported. PHOTO | FILE
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Tata Chemicals managing director Jack Mbui said silt impurity had significantly reduced the international appeal of Kenya’s soda ash, hurting their business.
The silt is normally transferred to the lake by surface runoff water then mixes with the trona in the process of extraction, hence compromising the quality of the soda ash.
The high level of silt in Lake Magadi has significantly reduced the quality of soda ash produced in Kenya, threatening the country’s export position and forcing Tata Chemicals to pay buyers millions of shillings in compensation.
Tata Chemicals managing director Jack Mbui said silt impurity had significantly reduced the international appeal of Kenya’s soda ash, hurting their business.
The world’s standard for total alkalinity, which determines the level of impurities in soda ash is 99 per cent but the levels recorded in the commodity mined by the firm has currently dropped to 95 per cent.
“We are paying millions in compensation as a result of the impurities in our product which is caused by the high levels of silt in Lake Magadi,” said Mr Mbui on Tuesday.
Tata Chemicals, the sole producer of soda ash, estimates that a total of 14,000 square kilometres of Lake Magadi is currently covered by silt which contaminates trona, a raw material that it mines to produce soda ash.
The silt is normally transferred to the lake by surface runoff water then mixes with the trona in the process of extraction, hence compromising the quality of the soda ash.
Mr Mbui said the factory intends to invest Sh200 million in relocating its two-dredge system from the area that has been most affected by the silt.
In the meantime, he said, Kenya which exports 90 per cent of 320,000 tonnes that it produces annually, making it the third largest producer of the mineral in the world, is losing millions of revenue in form of foreign exchange.
To mitigate the effects of silt, the firm has partnered with the county government of Narok to prevent more soil from being washed into the lake.
The company plans to distribute tree seedlings to farmers for planting in order to control soil erosion during rainy season. They are also building gabions to arrest the widespread erosion.
Mr Mbui said the continued shrinking of the lake would not only affect the operations of Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd, but also damage the feeding and breeding grounds of flamingos and other bird species as well as spoil the hot springs and ecosystem within Magadi.
Formerly known as Magadi Soda Company, Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited was established in 1911.
The company has been part of Tata Chemicals since 2005 when the latter acquired Magadi Soda fully and renamed it Tata Chemicals Magadi in 2011.
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