Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves

Commercial mining of bat guano for agricultural fertilizer only became possible in Kenya through discovery of major deposits in the lava tunnel caves of Mt. Suswa and the North Chyulu Hills in the early 1960’s. This paper provides historical information leading up to the guano mining, describes the...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jim W. Simons
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of South Florida Libraries 1998-01-01
Series:International Journal of Speleology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ijs.speleo.it/pdf/9.72.27_SimonsGuano.pdf
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author Jim W. Simons
author_facet Jim W. Simons
author_sort Jim W. Simons
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description Commercial mining of bat guano for agricultural fertilizer only became possible in Kenya through discovery of major deposits in the lava tunnel caves of Mt. Suswa and the North Chyulu Hills in the early 1960’s. This paper provides historical information leading up to the guano mining, describes the cave deposits, outlines the mining under-takings, and provides information on the guano producing bats and insect faunas. The results of guano analyses, details of the tonnages extracted and sold to recipients between 1966 to 1984, and some benefits which resulted from its use on crops are given. A brief outline of attempts to conserve the areas and caves is also included.
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spelling doaj.art-7b97c0bebf8c490f9ec4b0cff715b7172022-12-21T19:15:53ZengUniversity of South Florida LibrariesInternational Journal of Speleology0392-66721827-806X1998-01-01271-43351Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel cavesJim W. SimonsCommercial mining of bat guano for agricultural fertilizer only became possible in Kenya through discovery of major deposits in the lava tunnel caves of Mt. Suswa and the North Chyulu Hills in the early 1960’s. This paper provides historical information leading up to the guano mining, describes the cave deposits, outlines the mining under-takings, and provides information on the guano producing bats and insect faunas. The results of guano analyses, details of the tonnages extracted and sold to recipients between 1966 to 1984, and some benefits which resulted from its use on crops are given. A brief outline of attempts to conserve the areas and caves is also included.http://www.ijs.speleo.it/pdf/9.72.27_SimonsGuano.pdfguanohistory of speleologyKenya
spellingShingle Jim W. Simons
Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
International Journal of Speleology
guano
history of speleology
Kenya
title Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
title_full Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
title_fullStr Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
title_full_unstemmed Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
title_short Guano mining in Kenyan lava tunnel caves
title_sort guano mining in kenyan lava tunnel caves
topic guano
history of speleology
Kenya
url http://www.ijs.speleo.it/pdf/9.72.27_SimonsGuano.pdf
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