Two Chinese Giants Pull Out Of Race For Kenya’s Mrima Hill Treasure As Five Bidders Fight On

Two Chinese companies have withdrawn from the race to develop the multibillion shilling Mrima Hill mineral deposits in Kwale County. Five bidders are now left competing for the project.

Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho confirmed the development in an interview with Reuters on Friday October 30. He said the government expects to award the project within the next two to three weeks.

The companies that pulled out are Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group. The reasons behind their exit remain unclear.

The five bidders submitted their proposals on October 21. They include two American consortia and one U.S. affiliated group. An Australian consortium and a Kenyan British joint venture make up the rest.

The American bidders are Meridian Mineral Holdings and Frontier Minerals. The third group is Mrima Earth which is led by Critical Metals Corp. Australia’s RareX is partnering with Iluka Resources while Gem of Dreams is the Kenyan British venture.

Joho maintained that Kenya has faced no pressure from Washington or Beijing over the selection. He said the decision will be guided by national interests.

Reuters reported that the Chinese firms had shown interest in other Kenyan mining projects. Joho confirmed that one of them had submitted a separate bid but gave no further details.

Mrima Hill is believed to hold rare earth minerals and niobium worth tens of billions of dollars. The government is yet to establish the economic viability of the project.

The development comes amid fierce competition between the United States and China over critical minerals.

https://x.com/Kenyans/status/2116462056245235918?a=8GixYY51m6N-GqmXPXM&s=19

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