An Australian-led consortium has cleared an early hurdle in its bid to explore the vast Mrima Hill mineral deposit in Kwale County, a site estimated to hold in-ground resources worth as much as $62 billion, or roughly Sh8 trillion.
The consortium, bringing together RareX and Iluka Resources, has advanced to the Request for Proposals stage of the bidding process, with detailed technical and financial proposals due before the end of the month. Mrima Hill, located in Lunga-Lunga, has long been known to geologists for its deposits of rare earth oxides, including neodymium and praseodymium, alongside niobium and potential phosphate and manganese by-products.
Rare earths are critical to the manufacture of electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, smartphones and a wide range of defence and clean-energy technologies, placing Mrima Hill firmly on the radar of governments seeking to diversify supply chains away from China, which currently dominates global rare earth processing.
RareX has separately secured $50 million in conditional funding from GEM Global Yield to support its work on the project. The deal has also taken on a geopolitical dimension, with senior US officials said to have taken an interest in the project as Washington pushes to secure alternative sources of critical minerals.
President William Ruto’s administration has been keen to position Kenya as a destination for critical minerals investment, arguing that domestic processing of such resources could generate jobs and revenue far beyond simply exporting raw ore. Mining analysts caution, however, that in-ground resource estimates such as the $62 billion figure reflect a theoretical value of unmined material rather than a guaranteed return, and that full-scale extraction at Mrima Hill would likely require years of further exploration, environmental assessment and infrastructure investment.
Kwale County, already home to the Base Titanium mining operations, could see a significant economic boost should the Mrima Hill project move forward, though local leaders are expected to press for assurances on community benefits, environmental safeguards and compensation for affected residents in Lunga-Lunga. Further details on the proposal timeline are expected in the coming weeks.