appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Jevans Nyabiage

Mrima Hill, a sacred site about 65km (40 miles) southwest of Mombasa on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast, is emerging as a new front in the US-China rivalry for critical minerals.
US-led and Chinese bidders are competing for rights to develop the site, which is rich in rare earths and niobium, a metal used to make steel stronger and lighter.
American officials have offered to support Kenya’s development of its domestic critical minerals processing industry as Washington seeks to challenge Beijing’s dominance of global rare earth refining.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Kenyan President William Ruto on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week. They discussed how Kenya’s critical minerals resources could “position the country as a key player in the sector while presenting opportunities for US firms to provide value addition”.
A senior US delegation also made the case for such American participation at the AmCham Business Summit in Nairobi on September 9. It included Frank Garcia, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Chris Kulukundis, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Southern Africa, foreign assistance and critical minerals.
Washington is trying to reduce its reliance on China for processed rare earths. China accounted for about 85 per cent of global rare earth refining in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency.
Aly-Khan Satchu, a geoeconomic analyst focused on sub-Saharan Africa, said the US-China contest went beyond simply securing mineral deposits.
“Ultimately, the US-China competition around critical minerals is less about access to those minerals and more about the refining infrastructure,” he said.




“China holds a decade’s worth of advantage,” Satchu added. Kenya, he said, should assess competing offers with that wider strategic context in mind.
Garcia said Washington was prepared to support Kenya’s efforts to build its mining and processing industries. “Critical minerals are a top priority for President Donald Trump,” he said. “We are ready to work with Kenya as it becomes a regional leader in this space.”
In remarks that appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at China, Garcia said: “American companies are not here to extract and ship. That is not a partnership. That is extraction.” Garcia added that US involvement would include investment in communities, workforce development and technology transfer.
He said Washington wanted more processing to take place in Kenya, creating local jobs and allowing the host country to capture more of the minerals’ value.
At the same event, Kulukundis said two US-led consortiums were among the bidders seeking development rights at Mrima Hill, where historical studies indicate the presence of about 105 million tonnes of mineralised ore.
Kenya launched an international tender in March to select a developer for the deposit, whose rare earth and niobium resources have been valued at US$62.4 billion.
Mining principal secretary Harry Kimtai said six candidates remained in contention, down from 13 groups that initially showed interest. Two of the remaining bidders were Chinese, he said.
“The deal has not been closed,” Kimtai said.

The Mrima Earth Limited Consortium, led by New York-listed Critical Metals Corp, said in July that it had advanced in the tender. Australian companies RareX and Iluka Resources had formed a consortium and sought prospecting rights over Mrima Hill before the international competition began. The identities of the other bidders have not been publicly disclosed.
Chris Berry, head of US-based commodities advisory firm House Mountain Partners, said the US government had proven to be aggressive when funding domestic rare earth projects such as MP Materials and USA Rare Earth. “The US presence in this bidding war indicates that Western interests are looking to diversify supply chains and bolster allied efforts to counter China’s grip on critical mineral supply chains both in Africa and globally,” Berry said.
On whether US-backed processing in producing countries could compete with China, Berry said: “Absolutely, but the timing here is crucial. The US isn’t competitive today, but that can change with continued investment and offtake agreements.”
He cautioned that reducing dependence on China would take years. “Japan has been working to minimise its dependence on Chinese materials for 15 years and is still perhaps 60 per cent dependent on Chinese imports, down from 90 per cent originally. Untangling supply chains is a long, hard slog.”


US interest in Mrima Hill was apparent by June last year, when Marc Dillard, who was then serving as charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Kenya, visited the site. Agence France-Presse later reported, citing a community guard, that Chinese nationals had also tried to enter the area but were turned away.
Local residents have resisted previous plans to mine Mrima Hill, which is a “Kaya”, a sacred forest and ancestral site for the Digo, a coastal people belonging to the nine-group Mijikenda community. The forest was designated a national monument in 1992.
Residents fear mining would damage shrines and wildlife habitat, lead to evictions, and threaten farming and access to forest resources.
Washington is also pursuing mineral agreements elsewhere in Africa. In December last year, the US signed an agreement giving qualifying American investors preferential access to selected mining projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Washington has since backed US-based Virtus Minerals’ acquisition of Chemaf, a local operator of copper and cobalt projects. The deal followed the collapse of a planned sale to a unit of Chinese state-owned Norinco after Kinshasa withheld approval, reportedly following US pressure. The outcome marked a direct US gain at China’s expense in the contest for Congolese minerals.
The US is also seeking a larger role in Nigeria, where lithium, nickel, copper and rare earth prospects have been identified.
Last month, solid minerals minister Dele Alake said he led a delegation to the White House to discuss American investment in Nigeria’s minerals sector. “We talked about moving beyond simple extraction and working together across the entire supply chain, from exploration and mining to local processing and refining,” Alake said after talks with National Security Council official David Copley.
Washington is entering a sector where Chinese companies already have a sizeable presence. Chinese firms had invested more than US$1.3 billion in lithium processing since late 2023, including a US$250 million plant commissioned in Nasarawa state in July, according to the Nigerian government.


From body language to ping-pong, decoding the symbolism during Xi and Trump’s meeting

How Kenya’s sacred Mrima Hill became new front in US-China minerals rivalry

Why Xi Jinping skipped the UN after his Trump summit

Beijing says US, China to pursue military crisis-communication pact

US-China relations

Mrima Hill is a sacred forest on Kenya’s Indian Ocean coast rich in rare earths and niobium, a metal used to make steel stronger and lighter. Photo: AFP

Neighbours Domitila Mueni and Eunice Mwoki pictured last year near Kenya’s Mrima Hill, where US and Chinese bidders are locked in competition for rights to develop rare earth and niobium resources. Photo: AFP

Trump praises Takaichi for doing ‘tremendous job’ ahead of Xi’s visit to US

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Brazil’s Lula backs China peace push at UN, tells US his nation is ‘no one’s backyard’

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

During his speech before the UN General Assembly, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backed a China-Brazil peace initiative for Ukraine. Photo: AFP

Trump defends Iran war, touts ‘America is back’ agenda in UN speech

US President Donald Trump addresses the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

From left: US President Donald Trump signs a Greenland security agreement with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen at the UN on Tuesday. Photo: AP

World leaders meet at UN as planet grapples with climate change, wars, runaway AI

A wildfire burns amid high temperatures in Colombia on Sunday. Photo: AFP

The United Nations boss Antonio Guterres, pictured on Thursday, is due to leave his post at the end of the year. No clear successor has emerged. Photo: AP

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to talk to the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. His nation’s war with Russia is one of many brutal conflicts taking place. Photo: AFP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appears on a screen as he addresses UN delegates in 2025. This year he has also been refused a visa by the US to attend the high-level gathering. Photo: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit in India on September 12. None of the three will be at the UN gathering this week. Photo: via AP

A health worker checks a young girl’s health in the city of Gode in Ethiopia. The UN’s financial troubles have forced cutbacks to both peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid. File photo: AFP

Protesters in San Francisco on Thursday during a demonstration calling for a slowdown in the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems. Photo: AFP

Success of Xi-Trump summit lies in what happens afterwards

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

News

China

Diplomacy

American and Chinese bidders are vying for rights to develop a sacred Kenyan forest rich in rare earths and niobium


American and Chinese bidders are vying for rights to develop a sacred Kenyan forest rich in rare earths and niobium.


How Kenya’s sacred Mrima Hill became new front in US-China minerals rivalry

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}American and Chinese bidders are vying for rights to develop a sacred Kenyan forest rich in rare earths and niobium

American and Chinese bidders are vying for rights to develop a sacred Kenyan forest rich in rare earths and niobium