CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA ISSUE 0024 | Page 47

any mining licences to allow for proper review to ensure transparency in handling these issues,” said Balala. “Over 500 mining and exploration licences are floating around, only about 20 of these are active, the rest are used for speculation,” a source from the ministry told CIA Magazine. Thee decision comes barely a few days after Cortec Mining Kenya Limited (CMK) announced the approval of its Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the mining and processing of niobium and rare earth at Mrima Hill, Kwale. This will pave the way for mining of one of the largest such deposits in the world, which is expected to generate taxes and royalties for Kenya of more than $300m (Ksh26bn) over the mine’s 15-year lifespan. Niobium is a rare mineral with no replacement used to strengthen steel for cars, ships hulls, oil and gas pipelines, bridges, buildings and aircraft engines. The demand for Niobium has been growing at an average of 10 per cent a year over the past 10 years and is forecast to increase steadily going forward, according to reporting by Mineweb. The Kwale deposit has been classified as the sixth largest in the world. “The rare earth test results coming back from the testing laboratories in Australia are very exciting,” said David Anderson, managing director of CMK,” Recent results confirm a very high grade rare earth zone with intercepts of 108 metres at 6.73 per cent total rare earth (“TREO”) and 78 metres at 5.22 per cent. The niobium deposit is, likewise, unusually rich with 105.3 MT grading 0.65 per cent Niobium Pentoxide. (TOP) Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, (BELOW) mining site and a section of Kwale County. “Initially we will be setting up a $3.5 million pilot processing plant with a feed stock rate of about 5 tonnes an hour to produce niobium concentrate at Mrima Hill,” he said. Mr Anderson said the plant will later be expanded into our fullscale concentrate plant that will process about 750,000 tonnes of ore per annum to produce some 6,000 to 7,000 tons of Niobium concentrate per annum. Small scale initial excavation is expected to begin in late 2014 followed by operation of the pilot plant from 2015. “We will have 160 direct jobs once construction starts and up to 500 indirect jobs, as well as gains for the numerous local businesses involved in the construction process,” said Mr Anderson. “Our investor confidence has grown and they will now go ahead and spend the additional capital to complete the metallurgical work to prepare for building of the mine and processing plant that will bring prosperity to the region,” he said. Cortec Mining Kenya Ltd. was established in 2007 as a mining company based in Kenya. The company principally targets niobium and rare earth metal resources. The company aims to apply the best local and international standards in all aspects of its mining operations and to use renewable and non-renewable resources. THE CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA FOR AUTHORITATIVE AND EXTENSIVE BUSINESS INSIGHTS www.corporateintelligenceafrica.net 47