Engineering giant Fluor Corp is among a group of mostly US investors vying to develop Kenya's Mrima Hill critical minerals deposit, after two Chinese companies pulled out of the process, Kenya's mining minister Hassan Ali Joho told Reuters on Friday, October 30. A final decision would be announced within three weeks, he said.

Source: Reuters

Reuters reported it was first to report Fluor's bid, the timing of the final announcement and the withdrawal of the Chinese companies — Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group Co. Ltd. Joho said five contenders submitted tenders on October 21 for the deposit in southern Kenya, around 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the port city of Mombasa: two US consortia, one US-affiliated consortium, an Australian consortium and a Kenyan-British joint venture.

Source: Reuters

5consortia that tendered for Mrima Hill on October 21, according to Minister Joho
65 kmdistance of the deposit from the port city of Mombasa
2-3 weeksJoho's timeline for announcing the winning bidder
2Chinese companies that pulled out of the Mrima Hill process, according to Reuters

The two US consortia are Meridian Mineral Holdings, which includes Fluor Corp and Tetra Tech, and Frontier Minerals LLC, which includes rare earths startup ReElement Technologies, Reuters reported. A US-affiliated consortium called Mrima Earth, led by Critical Metals Corp, was also on the shortlist, alongside a Kenyan-British joint venture called Gem of Dreams and Australia's RareX in a tie-up with Iluka Resources. The Australian joint venture's participation is independently confirmed by RareX's own announcement that it submitted a consortium bid with Iluka Resources for the Mrima Hill rare earth, niobium and phosphate project under the Kenyan mining ministry's formal tender.

Source: RareX / Iluka announcement via TipRanks

Tens of billions of dollars of minerals — yaani, several lakh crore rupees

Joho said preliminary indicators suggested the coastal deposit contains tens of billions of dollars' worth of rare earth minerals and niobium, a metal used in aerospace manufacturing whose deposits are primarily mined in Brazil and Canada. Yaani: 'tens of billions of dollars' means a value running, roughly, into several lakh crore rupees — which is why the tender has drawn a US-China contest. Joho said he did not know the reason for the Chinese firms' withdrawal, that Nairobi had faced 'no pressure' from either Beijing or Washington, and that two sources told Reuters the Chinese firms had bid for other Kenyan state mining projects the same day. Kenya also believes it has large untapped deposits of lithium, graphite, copper and nickel, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump has made securing access to critical minerals a priority, signing deals with African nations as Washington tries to cut dependence on top producer China, which has tightened export controls, Reuters reported. A US State Department spokesperson told Reuters the US government would help American businesses invest in sectors including mining, while President William Ruto has said Kenya would not choose between Washington and Beijing and would process its own resources domestically where possible.