The company said its Mrima Earth Limited Consortium is one of three American finalists advancing in Kenya’s tender process for the rare earth and niobium project in Kwale County.
Critical Metals Corp said the Mrima Earth Limited Consortium, in which it is the lead party, has been shortlisted as one of three American finalists from seven bidders to move to the final stage of the Government of Kenya’s tender process for the right to develop the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium project in Kwale County. The company described Mrima Hill as one of the largest undeveloped rare earth and niobium deposits and said the asset would complement its Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland as part of a Western-aligned rare earth strategy. The company said the consortium, together with ASX-listed European Lithium Ltd, which holds an approximate 31% interest in Critical Metals, has a combined market capitalization of about $1.5 billion and cash reserves of more than $400 million, which it said would fund project development and Phase 1 construction. It also said the group aims to accelerate development through parallel engineering, permitting and procurement, with the longer-term goal of building a regional rare earth processing hub and eventually producing NdPr magnets. The update follows a July 21 notice in which Critical Metals said readers should disregard an earlier GlobeNewswire release on the same Kenya tender. In the new statement dated July 23, the company said the consortium will now focus on the final stage of the government’s evaluation process and provide further updates later.