Mrima Hill rare earths award due in three weeks: Chinese bidders withdraw from Kenya tenderMrima Hill rare earths award due in three weeks: Chinese bidders withdraw from Kenya tender

Joho, who heads the Ministry of Mining Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs told Reuters that "within the next two, three weeks we should be able to award Mrima Hills to the successful bidder."

Preliminary indicators suggest the deposit, about 65 km (40 miles) from Mombasa in southern Kenya, holds tens of billions of dollars of rare earth minerals and niobium, a metal used in aerospace manufacturing.

Who is still in the race

Five tenders were submitted on 21 October. The remaining contenders are Meridian Mineral Holdings, a US consortium of Fluor Corp and Tetra Tech; Frontier Minerals LLC, a US consortium that includes rare earths start-up ReElement Technologies; Mrima Earth, a US-affiliated consortium led by Critical Metals Corp; Gem of Dreams, a Kenyan-British joint venture; and RareX with Iluka Resources, an Australian consortium.

Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group Co. Ltd withdrew the week before the interview. Joho said he did not know why they pulled out and that Kenya faced no pressure from Beijing or Washington. He added that Kenya had not held talks with any bidder or offered an alternative to any of them, and that he wanted the process to be transparent.

Where the award fits Kenya's minerals strategy

The decision lands as Washington presses for access to critical minerals. A State Department spokesperson said US companies have proven track records and a commitment to local processing, and that the United States will help American businesses invest in the mining sectors of developing economies.

President William Ruto said in June that Kenya was close to a critical minerals deal with the United States under which Kenya would process its resources at home, and has said Kenya will not choose between Washington and Beijing.

As Mwenendo earlier reported, the United States has already backed Kenya's mineral processing drive, a push aimed at building domestic value chains and skilled industrial jobs. Across the continent, Mwenendo also covered how the Africa Finance Corporation is eyeing mining investments as competition for supply grows.

For Kenyans, the terms matter more than the winner's nationality: how much processing is done locally, what royalties the State collects and how coastal communities share in the proceeds. Joho has not said what the award will require on any of these.