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Consortium of Australian firms eyes Kwale rare earths
Compounds containing rare earths are commonly used to manufacture electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials and industrial processes.
Two companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), RareX and Iluka Resources, have jointly applied for a permit to prospect rare-earth deposits in Kwale County.
The consortium is eyeing the lucrative minerals in the Mrima Hill area after the government lifted moratorium on the rare-earth mining last year.
Compounds containing rare earths are commonly used to manufacture electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials and industrial processes.
In an application to Kenya’s National Mining Corporation (Namico), RareX company indicated that it would call on its experience at Cummins Range in Western Australia, which remains Australia’s largest undeveloped rare earths deposit and appears to be of a similar geological nature to Mrima Hill.
RareX Managing Director James Durrant said the company planned to work with Iluka to enable it to process rare earths from Mrima Hill at Eneabba while promoting local value chains for associated commodities.
“We believe this partnership will enable us to leverage Iluka’s expertise and resources as we work toward creating a major, multi-commodity project in Kenya, where the rare earths component is integrated with an Australian government-backed value chain,” he said.
“Our proposal will allow Australia to provide the complex rare earth value-add in a critical metals value chain, while providing Kenya with a major mining project and a domestic supply of manganese, niobium and phosphate for its local steel and agricultural sectors.”
Mrima Hill, has one of the top five rare earth deposits in the world estimated worth Sh8 trillion ($62.4 billion) and it also has niobium deposits estimated to be worth Sh4.5 trillion ($35 billion) and the consortium is leveraging Australian processing expertise and local value chains to explore the mines.
In 2012, Cortex Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd conducted Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and submitted report to National Environment Management Authority (Nema) for Niobium and rare earths mining in Mrima Hill which was rejected.
Nature Kenya and Kenya Forest Working Group had objected to the EIA on grounds that Mrima Hill was declared a Nature Reserve and National Monument, because of its natural and cultural riches ant therefore exploitation of its mineral riches should be strictly limited and closely monitored to preserve them.
Nature Kenya also recommended that the proponent submit information on sites for ore processing, waste storage and water extraction before the EIA report was approved.
In 2013, another EIA was done by Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd for the same project which was approved by Nema in July, despite concerns on the risk of losing an Important Bird Area from Nature Kenya, Kenya Forest Working Group and World Wide Fund for Nature.
In April 2013, Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd was granted a 21-year Special Mining Licence for the Mrima Hill project. In August, Kenyan government revoked all mining licences issued since January 2013 for a 60-day review period, on grounds that the licenses had been irregularly awarded.
The global demand for niobium, used to strengthen steel, is rising rapidly, with Mrima Hill now positioned in the world’s top six deposits. Kenya is poised to join Tanzania as a rare earth supplier. In March, Tanzania announced the discovery of lower grade deposits within the Wigu Hill Rare Earth Project located 170 km south-west of Dar es Salaam.
World demand for rare earth elements is estimated at 136,000 tonnes per year, with global production around 133,600 tonnes in 2010.
The difference is covered by previously mined stocks. Although many of the rare earth metals are not necessarily rare to find — some are more abundant in the earth’s crust than lead, gold, copper, or platinum — they often exist in very small concentrations, making extraction difficult.
And because of their similar chemical properties, rare earths tend to clump together, usually with radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium, making separation complicated and expensive.
