Kenya looks back to reclaim golden future

A woman holding raw gold at a mine in Kakamega. The mine, which used to be run by British mining company Rosterman from the 1930s to the 1950s, is active again after Acacia Mining discovered an estimated 1.31 million ounces of gold in the Liranda Corridor in Kakamega.

A man builds a bank to halt the flow of water at the mine, before he starts the arduous task of sifting it for gold. The Kenya Chamber of Mines has described the grade of 12.1 grams per ton as "very good" and comparable to gold from major mines in Africa and the world.

Edward Sukoine, a 25-year-old miner who has been working here for three years, is seen at a mine in Kakamega. Sukoine breaks rocks 20 to 25 meters underneath the earth. Kakamega was the scene of a gold rush in the early 1930s.

A man gets dirty as he reprocesses the dust-formed rock pieces. They turn into mud when washed with water. He's at a mine in Kakamega, a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km (18 miles) north of the Equator.

A person holds two pieces of raw gold at a mine. Raw gold is silver- colored before it is cooked on a coal fire until it acquires its yellowish color. Acacia says it plans to spend $12 million (€9.3 million) this year on exploration on the West Kenya project.

Workers are seen at a mine in Kakamega. The local inhabitants are mostly from the Luhya tribe, whose economic activity is mainly farming and fishing. When European settlers first visited the area, they were offered a local staple food called Obusuma.