kenya halts flow of mining licences pending

I assume Base is still OK and exempt from this review. Let's hope the government doesn't spook investors and the review can be completed quickly. Looking forward to the quarterly.

All the best.

KKR


Source: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-129778/kenya-freezes-issuance-new-mining-licences

July 27, 2013 The Star


Kenya has suspended the issuance of new mining licenses to allow for an audit of activities in its emerging mineral exploration industry and to review laws regulating the sector, the minister in charge of the sector said on Thursday.

The country has more than 300 local and foreign firms prospecting for minerals or producing on a small scale, up from less than 30 two years ago, according to the Kenya Chamber of Mines.

Kenya has proven deposits of titanium, gold and coal and is also estimated to hold large deposits of copper, niobium, manganese and rare earth minerals.

"I have stopped issuance of any mining license to allow for (a) proper review to ensure transparency in handling these issues," the mining ministry quoted Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala as saying at a meeting in Nairobi.

He said a total of 500 mining and exploration licenses were currently live, of which only about 20 were active and the rest held speculatively in the hope of being exploitable in the future.

Among the companies operating in the country are Australia's Base Resources, with a titanium mine in Kwale that will be Kenya's biggest mine when it starts production before the end of this year.

Others include BOC Gases, Carbacid, Tata Chemicals and Kilimapesa Gold, the latter of which is wholly-owned by Britain's Goldplat Plc and suspended its Kenyan operations due to low gold prices and uncertainty over the country's ownership law.

Balala said the freeze on issuance of licenses would provide room for the country to complete reviewing its laws to ensure competitiveness in the mining sector.

"You need to let the government complete the process of making laws for the sector, the sector must not stall," Balala said.

Among other changes, the law will stipulate clear timelines for licensing, a previously opaque process that was open-ended, leading to delays as officials took time to process applications.

Balala last month said the government will repeal a law passed last year requiring mining firms to have a 35 per cent local shareholding, after foreign investors warned it could choke off the industry.