Whether the new cadastre produces clean, non-overlapping titles, and whether juniors negotiate coexistence with artisanal cooperatives instead of seeking their removal. Kenya's political economy makes eviction-led exploration far harder to sustain than in neighbouring jurisdictions.

Kenyan gold exploration concentrates in the Migori–Kakamega greenstone belt in the west, with separate interest in Turkana, West Pokot and Trans Nzoia. Almost all of it overlaps ground worked by artisanal cooperatives.

After the licensing moratorium and cadastre rebuild, most holdings are early-stage: mapping, soil geochemistry and limited drilling rather than defined resources.

Community land in western Kenya is held under registered group title, which gives residents more leverage than in most of the region and makes negotiated access the only workable route. Consent disputes usually turn on which committee spoke for the community.

Where juniors have bought artisanal ore during exploration, that trade — not the drilling — is what actually shapes local views of the company.