Kenya Gold Market 2026 | What You Need to Know

Kenya gold market is going through its biggest shake-up in years. A new export ban, a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) buying program, and a formalization push for artisanal miners are all reshaping how gold is mined, sold, and traded in the country. Here’s a full picture of where the market stands and what it means for buyers, sellers, and investors.

Production Is Falling — Even as Prices Rise

Despite record-high global gold prices, Kenya’s official mining output has declined for three straight years. National production dropped 8.2% to 329.1 kilograms in 2025, continuing a downward trend after peaking at 563.6 kg in 2022. The full picture:

This decline in official output doesn’t mean less gold is being mined — much of Kenya’s real production happens outside government statistics (see “The Informal Market” below).

The Biggest Change: Kenya Has Banned Raw Gold Exports

In 2026, President William Ruto ordered that all gold and other minerals must be processed domestically before they can leave the country — no more shipping raw, unrefined gold abroad. The policy is paired with plans for at least three new gold refineries:

• Kakamega refinery — the most advanced, backed by a Sh5.8 billion investment from H-NUO Kenya Company, targeting operational status by mid-2027
• Nairobi refinery — planned as a second facility
• A third facility is also in the pipeline

The goal is to stop Kenya losing value by exporting raw material, and instead capture refining profits domestically — a strategy modeled on similar moves by Ghana and Zimbabwe.

What this means for the trade: any gold bought or sold for export purposes now needs to go through approved processing channels. If your business handles export-bound gold, this is the single most important regulatory change to understand and reflect accurately in your own communications.

The Central Bank of Kenya Is Now a Buyer

Under the Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Act, 2026, the CBK has explicit legal authority to buy, sell, import, export, refine, and hold gold — and it’s set to become the priority buyer of locally mined, domestically processed gold, as part of a plan to build up Kenya’s foreign exchange reserves.

Key details:

• The CBK will buy gold using Kenyan shillings through a Domestic Gold Purchase Programme (DGP), then add it to official reserves
• The CBK will rely on licensed private refiners rather than refining gold itself
• Kenya’s move mirrors Tanzania (whose central bank has accumulated 27.5 metric tonnes of gold since 2023) and Ghana (which now sources roughly a third of its reserves from domestic gold)
• The CBK’s own gold holdings jumped 63.9% in value in 2025, reaching Sh309.71 million, as global gold prices rallied to a record $5,589.38 per troy ounce in January 2026

What’s still unresolved: exactly which dealers and refiners will be approved to supply the CBK is an open question the industry is still working through. Since the CBK is now the first-priority buyer, it effectively gains real pricing power in the domestic market — how fairly that power is used will shape how miners and dealers view the program.

The Informal Market Is Still Where Most Activity Happens

A large share of Kenya’s actual gold production and trade happens outside official channels. Artisanal and small-scale mining has grown enough in recent years that experts describe it as a genuine gold rush, driven by high global prices, youth unemployment, and the decline of agricultural livelihoods in Western Kenya. Because this gold is traded informally — mostly at mining sites and local markets, often across borders — it rarely appears in government statistics at all.

The government is trying to bring this activity into the formal system:

• A new regulatory framework has been launched specifically to formalize artisanal gold mining in Kakamega County, one of the country’s most active informal mining areas
• The stalled Gold Processing Bill (in committee since 2025) aims to formalize gold collection and processing nationally, though it faces pushback — one MP has objected that licensing fees were raised from KES 20,000 to KES 500,000, with approvals taking up to four years

Legal Framework

The Mining Act, 2016 remains the core law governing Kenya’s mining sector: it sets up the licensing system, community benefit obligations, and sustainability requirements, and is backed by further regulations on exploration, mineral rights, royalties, and mine closure.

Mineral royalties (covering all minerals, not gold alone) totaled Sh3.8 billion in 2025, up 18.8% from Sh3.2 billion in 2024, split 70% to national government, 20% to county government, and 10% to the local community where the minerals were extracted.

Large-scale miners are also now required to list at least 20% of their equity on the Nairobi Securities Exchange within three years of starting production — a local-ownership rule that remains a point of negotiation for capital-intensive projects.

Major Project to Watch: Shanta Gold’s West Kenya Project

The most significant industrial gold development in the country right now is Shanta Gold’s West Kenya Project, located in the Liranda Corridor and targeting the Isulu and Bushiangala deposits. As of early 2026 it has completed feasibility studies and is moving through project financing and its Resettlement Action Plan. The identified ore grades exceed 10g/t Au, making it one of the highest-grade undeveloped gold projects anywhere in Africa.

How to Buy or Sell Gold Legally in Kenya

1. Verify the buyer or dealer’s Ministry of Mining registration and physical office presence
2. Require an independent assay report before agreeing to any price
3. Use traceable payment methods — bank transfer, M-Pesa, or escrow rather than large cash sums
4. Ask about export compliance if the transaction is export-bound, given the new processing-before-export rule
5. Watch for pricing pressure from the CBK’s buying program — as the primary buyer role rolls out, private-market pricing dynamics may shift

Kenya Gold Market FAQs

Is it legal to export raw gold from Kenya? No — as of 2026, all gold must be processed domestically before it can be exported. Only refined gold can legally leave the country through government-approved channels.

Who is the biggest buyer of gold in Kenya now? The Central Bank of Kenya has priority buyer status for locally mined, domestically processed gold under its new Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, though licensed private dealers and refiners continue to operate in the market.

Why has Kenya’s official gold production been falling? Reported production has dropped each year since 2022’s peak, but this mainly reflects how much artisanal and small-scale mining activity happens outside official statistics — not necessarily less gold being mined overall.

What is the Gold Processing Bill? A proposed law, stalled in parliamentary committee since 2025, aimed at formalizing gold collection and processing nationally and making royalties and taxes easier to enforce. It remains unpassed as of late 2026.

Are artisanal miners regulated? Increasingly — the government has launched a formalization program in Kakamega County specifically, and broader reforms are being negotiated, but much of the sector still trades informally.

Where are Kenya’s new gold refineries being built? The most advanced is in Kakamega (targeting mid-2027 operation), with a second planned for Nairobi and at least one more in the pipeline.