Firm offers small miners online market platform

Small-time miners could soon enjoy access to an organised market after a Kenyan start-up launched an online trading platform targeting artisanal miners.

Sawa Minerals chief technical officer Kali Angwa said https://sawaminerals.com/ will establish a platform where legally mined and owned precious stones could be sold.

Although he declined to disclose investments made in setting up the tech-based firm or name his co-directors and their expertise in dealing in precious stones trade, Mr Angwa said the firm intended to bring transparency that will ensure artisans and small-scale miners become part of the value chain.

“Small miners make a huge contribution to the global minerals trade yet they remain poor, exposed to hazards and the constant threat to conflict,” he observed adding the platform will enable them to process orders.

Beneficiaries could be miners, refiners, traders, manufacturers, designers, makers, as well as retailers working in the Western region that is rich in precious stones.

“There is no membership fee and only a success fee is paid when a transaction is successfully completed,” said Mr Angwa adding that enabling individual miners to access the global marketplace means they will get better prices.

Precious stones trade remains largely secretive with artisan and small miners lacking information on the prices of precious minerals they mine.

According to the 2018 Economic Survey, Kenya exported 502 kilogrammes of gold worth Sh1.5 billion, 22,956 carats of cut gemstones (Sh128.6 million) and 124.3 carats of rough gemstones worth Sh238.6 million.