Critical minerals mining company Critical Metals Corporation has announced that the Mrima Earth Consortium, in which the company is the lead party, has been shortlisted as one of three US finalists, from an initial field of seven bidders, to proceed to the final stage of the Kenyan government’s competitive tender process for the right to develop the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium project, in Kwale county.

Mrima Hill is positioned on Kenya’s southern coast with direct access to the Port of Mombasa.

China currently controls about 90% of global rare earth supply and has signalled it will increasingly prioritise domestic needs, while global demand for the rare earth magnets that power electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence systems is projected to grow four to six times by 2040, Critical Metals points out.

It highlights that Mrima Hill represents a natural and complementary addition to the company’s existing portfolio, sitting alongside its Tanbreez rare earth project, in Greenland, and consolidating its Western-aligned rare earth strategy.

Together with ASX-listed European Lithium, which holds an interest of about 31% in Critical Metals, the Mrima Earth Consortium carries a combined market capitalisation of about $1.5-billion and cash reserves in excess of $400-million, and is also supported by institutional investors.

This means the consortium is fully funded through both the project development stage and Phase 1 construction.

The consortium’s accelerated development approach, combining parallel engineering, permitting and procurement, early mobilisation of engineering, procurement and construction and technical contractors, and fast-tracked long-lead equipment procurement, is expected to be designed to deliver earlier first production and earlier cash flow generation than a conventional development timeline would allow.

The consortium’s ambition extends across the full rare earth value chain, from initial concentrate production through to separated rare earth oxides and, ultimately, the production of high-value neodymium-praseodymium magnets.

Underpinning this is a technical team that has studied and helped build rare earths projects.

The consortium’s long-term vision extends beyond mining to position Mrima Hill at the centre of a regional rare earth processing hub, creating jobs across East and Southern Africa.

“Being shortlisted for the final stage of this process is a defining moment for Critical Metals and our consortium. Mrima Hill is precisely the kind of world-class, strategically located asset we have built this company to pursue, and it sits perfectly alongside Tanbreez, further strengthening our Western-aligned rare earth strategy,” says Critical Minerals chairperson Tony Sage.

He informs that focus will now shift to the final stage of the government’s evaluation process.