Cortec Mining, a subsidiary of Canada’s Pacific Wildcat Resources, is poised to embark on niobium mining in Kenya after being granted the final approval by the environment body.

The company, which was licensed to explore for and mine niobium and rare-earth metals in Kwale, has received National Environment Management Authority (Nema) authorisation, which allows it to proceed with the project.

Cortec Mining Kenya MD David Anderson says the granting of the approval comes after the firm completed an environmental-impact assessment, which addressed issues such as deforestation, radiation and compensation for affected communities.

“This is a great step forward for Cortec Mining Kenya and everyone in Kenya associated with this world-class resource and project,” he says.

The granting of the licence comes at a time when Kenya is undertaking reforms in the mining sector, which has enormous potentials that has largely remained unexploited.

The sector is estimated to have the potential to contribute about 10% to Kenya’s gross domestic product a year, up from the current 1%.

The newly elected government has established a fully fledged Ministry of Mining and plans are ongoing to establish a State-owned company, National Mining Corporation.

The Kenyan government also plans to repeal a law that requires foreign companies to cede at least 35% to local shareholders to reduce this figure to 10%.

According to Anderson, Cortec intends to invest $90-million in the project, for which it has a 21-year mining licence.

The company is to build a pilot processing plant with a feedstock rate of about 5 t/h. The plant will later be expanded into a full-scale concentrate plant that will process about 750 000 t/y of ore to produce 6 000 t to 7 000 t of niobium concentrate.

“Our investors’ confidence has grown and they will now go ahead and spend the additional capital to complete the metallurgical work to prepare for the building of the mine and processing plant that will bring prosperity to the region,” says Anderson.

Studies by the Department of Mines and Geology show that Kenya has the fifth-largest niobium endowment in the world, estimated at $3-billion.

Niobium is a rare mineral used to strengthen steel. It is also used in the production of high-grade steel products, such as vehicles, ship hulls, oil and gas transmission pipelines, large structures like bridges, towers and buildings, as well as aircraft engines.