Nairobi, April 28 -- Kenya is accelerating a shift toward value addition of local mineral resources as it seeks to unlock billions from its natural extractives sector in coming years, underpinned by reforms to end raw exports.

Speaking during the ongoing two-day Kenya Mining Investment Conference in Nairobi, President William Ruto said the government is restructuring the sector to ensure the country captures more value, noting that reliance on raw exports in the past has limited economic gains.

The pronouncement comes at a time when the country is seeking to unlock a largely underdeveloped extractives sector that has for decades contributed less than one percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) despite evidence of significa...