Nairobi, June 10 -- For years, Kenya's mining sector has carried an uncomfortable label, a country rich in minerals but poor in measurable mining contribution to the economy. In public discourse, the sector is routinely described as contributing about 1 percent to the GDP, sometimes even less depending on the year and method used.

Yet this is the same country with reported mineral occurrences across all 47 counties, including gold, copper, graphite, manganese, iron ore, nickel, coltan, gemstones, rare earth elements and industrial minerals.

This contradiction should concern policymakers, investors and communities alike. How can a country with such mineral diversity and widespread mining activity still appear economically insignificant i...