Migori gold miners decry exploitation by middlemen

Despite the county being among the highest producers of gold in the country, the artisans claim that the mining activity is not benefiting them fully because of a lack of a better and reliable market.

The miners sell their gold to middlemen who buy a gram of gold at Ksh.7000 but sell it at Ksh.10000 to gold dealers in Migori town.

Migori county artisanal miners’ association chairperson Kephas Ojuka said they produce about 8kg of gold in a week, which translates to about Ksh.56 million.

Ojuka however said that the benefits are not felt by the miners because of the poor market.

He said they spend a lot of energy and time mining, but middlemen enjoy the better chunk of their sweat.

The miners’ association secretary Peter Onyango said it’s not easy to separate the artisanal miners and the middlemen despite their concern over the poor and unreliable market.

Onyango said the middlemen give a lot of loans to the miners making them indebted to work with them. 

The miners association said they have already registered a cooperative and they are now trying to get a license so that they can be able to look for a market for their gold on their own.