Rare Earth Elements in Kenya (Mrima Hill and Beyond)

Rare earth elements in Kenya have moved from a geology-textbook topic to a national headline, largely because of Mrima Hill in Kwale County. A government tender, a reported Kenya-US agreement and a court challenge have put this small coastal hill at the centre of a global race for the minerals used in magnets, electric vehicles and defence equipment. This article explains what rare earths are, the geology behind Kenya’s deposits, the processing and radioactivity challenges, and where the legal and commercial story stands.

What Are Rare Earth Elements?

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metals: the 15 lanthanides (from lanthanum to lutetium), plus scandium and yttrium. They are not especially rare in the Earth’s crust. The difficulty is that they rarely occur in concentrations high enough to mine, and they are chemically very similar, which makes separating them expensive.

They are usually split into light REEs (such as neodymium and praseodymium, key for permanent magnets) and heavy REEs (such as dysprosium and terbium, which keep magnets stable at high temperature and are generally scarcer). Results are often quoted as TREO, total rare earth oxides.

Niobium, which also features at Mrima, is a separate metal used to make strong, lightweight steel alloys. Kenya classes both rare earths and niobium as strategic minerals.

Carbonatites: The Rock Behind the Resource

Most of the world’s major REE and niobium deposits are tied to carbonatites. A carbonatite is an unusual igneous rock made mostly of carbonate minerals such as calcite, rather than silicates. It forms from magma that originates deep in the mantle, and it often occurs in rings or plugs within alkaline volcanic complexes along rift zones.

Carbonatites are enriched in REEs, niobium, phosphate and sometimes thorium. Over time, tropical weathering can leach away the carbonate and leave behind a residual cap rich in resistant minerals, a process that can concentrate REEs near the surface. This is one reason weathered carbonatites attract exploration.

Mrima Hill, Kwale: Kenya’s Best-Known Carbonatite

Mrima Hill is a carbonatite complex of about 390 acres (roughly 157 hectares) near the Indian Ocean coast, in Kwale County. It was identified by Kenya’s Mines and Geological Department in the 1930s. Surface weathering has produced a deep, iron- and manganese-rich soil cap with elevated niobium and REEs.

Media coverage of the 2026 tender has quoted reported resources of about 5.8 million tonnes of niobium and 48.7 million tonnes of rare earths, with a further 110.7 million tonnes inferred, and an average rare earth grade of around 5 percent TREO. Headline values of US$62 to 64 billion, or around KES 8 trillion, have also circulated.

These numbers should be treated with caution. They have not been confirmed here against a modern, independently audited resource statement under a recognised code. More importantly, in-ground value is not economic value: it ignores mining and processing costs, metallurgical recovery, tax, royalties, environmental obligations, and the volatile price of each element. A deposit’s worth is what can be profitably extracted, not the theoretical value of everything in the ground. “Inferred” resources also carry low geological confidence.

Beyond Mrima: Other Kenyan Carbonatites and Targets

Mrima is part of a wider picture. Kenya has several alkaline-carbonatite centres, though most have not been explored to modern standards and public data are limited.

• Homa Mountain (Homa Bay County): a carbonatite volcanic complex in western Kenya, formed by volcanism linked to rifting and one of very few carbonatite-bearing volcanoes in the world. It has been studied by geologists for decades, though its economic potential for REEs and niobium is not established in the sources reviewed.
• Ruri and Wasaki (western Kenya): other carbonatite and alkaline centres in the Lake Victoria region, reported in the geological literature. Their grades and sizes are not well defined publicly.
• Rift Valley carbonatites, including the Kerio area: associated with rift volcanism and reported in regional studies, but needing verification and fresh exploration.
• Mozambique Belt targets: the metamorphic belt running through eastern and south-eastern Kenya hosts pegmatites, gneisses and shear zones that can contain REE-bearing minerals, and several of Kenya’s priority mineral counties lie in or near this belt.

Kenya’s preliminary National Airborne Geophysical Survey reported around 970 mineral occurrences, including rare earths, thorium, niobium-related minerals, copper, graphite, nickel and others. That is an indication of potential, not of proven resources.

Processing: Why Rare Earths Are Hard

Mining REEs is only the first step. The ore must be crushed and concentrated, usually by flotation or magnetic separation, then chemically broken down using acid or high-temperature roasting. The resulting mixed solution is purified and separated element by element, typically through hundreds of solvent-extraction stages, before being turned into oxides and then metals or alloys for magnets.

This chain is capital-intensive and technically demanding, and the world’s processing capacity is concentrated in China. A project that mines concentrate but cannot process it locally may capture only a small share of the final value. This is one reason Kenya has stressed local value addition.

Radioactivity: The Thorium Challenge

Many REE minerals occur alongside thorium and, sometimes, uranium, which are naturally radioactive. Mining and processing can concentrate these elements in dust, tailings and chemical residues. Properly managed, the risks can be controlled through dust suppression, shielded handling, secure tailings and monitoring, and many mines operate safely. Poorly managed, they can contaminate water, soil and air, and create long-term liabilities.

At Mrima, the issue is acute for three reasons. The hill is naturally radioactive, there are communities and farmland nearby, and the site lies within a forest that has cultural importance. Any developer would need independent baseline studies, a robust Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, a radiation protection plan, and credible regulatory oversight, including by the national nuclear regulator. Thorium, uranium and rare earths are all on Kenya’s list of strategic minerals.

Legal Status and Protected-Area Questions

Mrima Hill is reported to be both a gazetted national monument and part of a protected forest, Kaya Mrima, which is sacred to the Mijikenda and Digo communities. Section 7 of the Mining Act bars mining in protected areas, which raises a legal question about how any project could proceed. A court petition filed in June 2026 by Kwale residents challenges the process, partly over secrecy and human-rights concerns relating to a reported Kenya-US preliminary agreement.

History is relevant. Cortec Mining Kenya was earlier granted rights at Mrima, but its licence was revoked in 2013. That episode left lessons about licensing transparency, community consent and the difference between a promise and a permit.

Kenya’s royalty rate for rare earths is reported at 8 percent. The government has also signalled that it wants local processing rather than raw exports, consistent with a wider push for value addition.

The 2026 Tender: Where Things Stand

The Ministry of Mining invited expressions of interest for a Mrima Hill niobium, rare earth and other minerals development project. The notice was gazetted on 27 March 2026 under sections 14(1) and 223(2)(e) of the Mining Act and closed on 21 April 2026.

Media reports in July 2026 said that seven bidders had been narrowed to three finalist groups: a US-led consortium led by Critical Metals Corporation, an Australian pairing of RareX and Iluka Resources, and, reportedly, ReElement, a subsidiary of American Resources Corp. A winner could be selected by the end of 2026, according to the same reports. As of the early September information available to us, no winning bidder had been announced, and I could not confirm a later award. Readers should treat the list of finalists as media-reported rather than officially confirmed.

Risks and Open Questions

• Legal: the protected-area status, the court petition and the transparency of the process could delay or block any award.
• Technical: published resource numbers need independent verification; metallurgy and processing flowsheets must be proven.
• Environmental and social: radioactivity, water, dust and loss of sacred forest need careful management and genuine community consent.
• Commercial: rare earth prices swing with Chinese policy, and a smaller project may not support a full separation plant on its own.
• Fiscal: how revenue is shared between national government, Kwale County and local communities remains an important question.

Conclusion

Kenya’s rare earth story starts with carbonatite geology and, for now, rests largely on one hill. Mrima Hill may be significant, but headline values should not be mistaken for profit, and the legal and radiation questions are as important as the geology. Other Kenyan carbonatites and Mozambique Belt targets deserve proper modern exploration so that the country’s potential is based on data rather than headlines.

Facts, fees, royalties and tenders change, so confirm details with official sources such as the Ministry of Mining and the Gazette. This article is general information, not investment or legal advice.

Sources and Further Reading

• Sh8 trillion treasure: inside the US-China scramble for Mrima Hill (The Standard)
• Terms of Reference, Mrima Hill Expression of Interest (Government of Kenya, PDF)
• Kenya-US rare earths deal challenged in court over secrecy (eNCA)
• Kwale residents challenge Kenya-US rare earth mining deal in court (Nation)
• Consortium shortlisted to develop Kenya project (Engineering News)