Fluor Corp Joins Race for Kenya's Rare Earths

A group of primarily US investors, including engineering giant Fluor Corp, are competing to develop Kenya's Mrima Hill critical minerals deposit. This comes after two Chinese companies, Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group Co. Ltd., withdrew from the selection process. Kenya's mining minister indicated that a final decision would be announced within three weeks.

The Mrima Hill deposit, situated in southern Kenya, is preliminarily estimated to contain tens of billions of dollars worth of rare earth minerals and niobium. Niobium is a crucial metal for aerospace manufacturing. Five contenders submitted bids on October 21, including two US consortia, one US-affiliated consortium, an Australian consortium, and a Kenyan-British joint venture.

Among the US contenders are Meridian Mineral Holdings, which includes Fluor Corp and Tetra Tech, and Frontier Minerals LLC, featuring rare earths startup ReElement Technologies. A US-affiliated consortium, Mrima Earth, and an Australian joint venture with RareX and Iluka Resources also submitted tenders. The minister stated that American entities have shown strong interest in Kenya's transparent development process for the Mrima Hill site.

While the reasons for the Chinese firms' withdrawal were not disclosed, sources suggested they may have bid for other Kenyan mining projects, including those for coltan, manganese, copper, and chromite, on the same day the Mrima Hill tender was due. Kenya's government maintained a transparent process and stated it faced no pressure from Beijing or Washington regarding its decisions, emphasizing that choices are guided by the country's interests. This follows Kenya's broader strategy to process minerals domestically and pursue multiple international partnerships aligned with its economic priorities, alongside potential lithium, graphite, copper, and nickel resources.