Kenya is seeking consultants for a feasibility study on a planned gold refinery in the East African nation’s western town of Kakamega, in a bid to boost earnings by small-scale miners.

“The aim of the project is to improve the livelihoods of the beneficiary community, regional economy and that of Kenya as a whole, and creation of direct and indirect jobs for wealth creation through refining of gold to international standards,” the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining said Friday in a statement in the Daily Nation newspaper.

The ministry also plans facilities to process soapstone and granite in the region and consultants have until Nov. 8 to show interest, according to the statement.

Kenya is the world’s third-biggest producer of soda ash, used to make glass, and ranks sixth in output of fluorspar, used in steel making, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It also has deposits of coal, gold, rubies and sapphires.