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Tension and distrust have taken hold in five villages near Kenya’s coastline as global powers, including the United States and China, seek access to a forest rich in rare-earth minerals essential to both high-tech and eco-friendly industries.
The Trump administration prioritised the acquisition of critical minerals as a key aspect of its diplomatic strategy in Africa, particularly via a peace agreement in the resource-abundant Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this year.
Mrima Hill, a forest spanning approximately 390 acres along Kenya’s Indian Ocean shoreline, may be another focus of interest.
This serene location sits atop significant rare-earth reserves that Cortec Mining Kenya, a subsidiary of Pacific Wildcat Resources based in the UK and Canada, projected in 2013 to be valued at $62.4 billion, featuring substantial quantities of niobium, which is utilised to enhance steel.
Marc Dillard, a US official, visited the hill in June during his tenure as the interim ambassador to Kenya.
Recently, other foreign visitors, including Chinese individuals, have also tried to gain access but were turned away, according to Juma Koja, a security guard for the Mrima Hill community.
This year, an Australian consortium of mining companies, RareX and Iluka Resources, proposed to extract rare earth minerals from the site, and residents have noted an influx of land speculators into the area.
The growing interest is raising concerns among the community, primarily composed of the Digo ethnic group, who fear potential eviction or exclusion from future mining profits.
The verdant forest contains their sacred sites and has historically sustained their agriculture and livelihoods, yet today, over half of the community lives in dire poverty, according to government statistics.
In 2013, Kenya revoked a mining licence issued to Cortec Mining Kenya, citing environmental impact concerns and licensing irregularities.
Cortec claimed in court that the licence was cancelled after it declined to pay a bribe to the then-mining minister Najib Balala, a claim he has denied.
The company was unsuccessful in several legal challenges related to the licence revocation.
In 2019, Kenya enacted a temporary halt on new mining licences due to concerns surrounding corruption and environmental harm.
However, the country now perceives a significant opportunity, particularly as China, the leading supplier of rare earth elements, increasingly restricts its exports.
This year, Kenya’s mining ministry introduced “ambitious reforms,” including tax incentives and enhanced transparency in licensing, aimed at attracting investors and raising the sector’s contribution to GDP from 0.8 per cent to 10 per cent by 2030.
Daniel Weru Ichang’i, a retired professor of economic geology at the University of Nairobi, remarked that Kenya still faces considerable challenges, particularly in compiling trustworthy information regarding its resources.
“There’s a romantic view that mining is an easy area, and one can get rich quickly… We need to sober up,” he told AFP.
“Corruption makes this area, which is very high-risk, less attractive to invest in.”
As for Mrima Hill, residents express concern about their livelihoods, sacred sites, medicinal plants, and the forest, which has been part of their lives for generations.
