Kenya and the United States are in advanced talks on a critical minerals partnership that could see refineries and processing plants established in the country, with some processed minerals supplied to the U.S. market.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho said the discussions involve several U.S. government departments, including Commerce, Defence and State, as the two countries work on the proposed arrangement.

It has emerged that at least six firms from the United States, Australia and China are eyeing the Mrima Hill project, which could see them develop and process niobium, cobalt, copper and nickel, all identified in Kenya.

“Several departments of the U.S. government are involved in the discussion,” Joho told Semafor , adding that talks were also ongoing with potential buyers over different products and markets.

📌 What You Need to Know

Joho said the proposed partnership would focus on processing minerals in Kenya , in line with the government's push to retain more value from the country's mineral resources instead of exporting them in raw form.

The CS said Kenya would also need to offer incentives to support the proposed investments, including special economic zones, port access, supporting infrastructure, and tax concessions.

“There has to be all the necessary incentives that the government will provide, such as special economic zones, port access, support infrastructure, and tax concessions,” Joho said.

The talks are linked to the ongoing bidding process for the development of Mrima Hill in Kwale County, where six companies are competing for the rights to develop the mineral deposit.

The firms competing for the Mrima Hill project include companies from the United States, Australia and China, with the government expecting to conclude the bidding process in late October before engaging the preferred bidder on the next stage of the project.

Joho said the critical minerals partnership discussions were “intertwined” with the Mrima Hill process, which is expected to play a role in Kenya's plans to expand mineral extraction and processing.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke