Australian mining company-Base Titanium faces an early obstacle in its planned exploration of mineral sands in Lamu and Tana River, as the Kwale mine-life comes to an end.
The company has eight pending prospecting licenses (applications) that are yet to be issued by the Mining and Blue Economy Ministry, despite the lifting of a moratorium that was placed in 2019 on issuance of permits to investors.
Base’s plans to explore and possible future investments in the two regions have however been met with opposition, amid its parent company’s activities in other regions being questioned.
Ulinzi Africa Foundation, a regional conservation organisation with a special focus on the Tana Delta, says Base’s activities will negatively impact the ecosystems and biodiversity.
“The proposed mining prospecting blocks PL/2019/0263 and PL/2019/0266 directly impact our organisation’s operational area negatively. We object to the issuance of these licenses,” the Non-Governmental Organisation says in a letter to Mining CS Salim Mvurya.
Kenya is also in urgent need of an updated Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) to provide best practice governance of extractive activities, it said, in order to minimise impact.
The country has also not adopted the Extractive series Transparency Initiative (EITI) standard.
According to the NGO, an examination of several cases indicates that heavy mineral sands extraction has caused intense harm to unique ecosystems, drastic ecological disruption and increased vulnerability of the communities.
It has further questioned the integrity and impartiality of the Community Development Agreement Committees established by Base Titanium, under the Mining Act of 2016.
Base’s subsidiary – Base Toliara has also been marred by controversy on its Madagascar project that led to its suspension in 2018. There have however been talks between the company and the government to resume the project.
The Kenyan government, through the Mining Ministry, is currently running a compliance checks on all licenses and permits for anybody handling minerals, to determine compliance with Mining Act 2016.
Base accounts for 65 per cent of Kenya's mineral exports. In the 2023 financial year, it paid about Sh2billion in mineral royalties to the government.
In the year ending June 2022, Base paid Treasury $30.07 million (about 3.9 billion) in royalties, and $26.8 million (Sh3.3 billion) in corporate and withholding taxes.
The Lamu, Tana River explorations are however long-term plans, as it would take between five to 10 years, if not longer, to establish the existence of adequate resources before making heavy investment.
Speaking to the Star on the telephone, Base Titanium general manager External Affairs, Simon Wall, said the company remains compliant to the country’s mining laws.
“Base respects the licence application process and believes the opportunity for the public to participate is an important step. We look forward to working with the ministry to address any issues raised by the public in relation to Base prospecting license applications,” Wall said.
Mining at Kwale operations is expected to end in December this year when ore reserves are fully depleted.
This will bring to an end about 11 years of mining activities in Kenya, since 2013 when mining activities begun. The first shipment of minerals was made in February 2014.
The firm’s investment in Kenya however begun in 2010 with a capital expenditure on its project to date being in excess of $380 million (Sh48.8 billion-current exchange rate).