RareX Advances to Final Stage of Kenya Mrima Hill Rare Earths Tender With Iluka
RareX–Iluka Consortium advances to final RFP stage of Kenya’s Mrima Hill rare earths tender
RareX (ASX: REE, REEO) has announced that the RareX–Iluka Consortium has been shortlisted to advance to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage of Kenya’s competitive tender for the Mrima Hill Niobium, Rare Earth Elements and Other Minerals Development Project in Kwale County, Kenya. The Consortium received formal written notification from the Principal Secretary, State Department for Mining, Kenya, dated 21 July 2026, confirming success at the Expression of Interest (EOI) stage under reference number MIBEMA/SDM/REOI/004/2025-2026. This moves RareX from early qualification into the final procurement phase for a strategically significant project. RareX is the lead member of the Consortium under a Bidding Consortium Agreement dated 4 April 2025.
What the RFP milestone means
The evaluation was conducted in accordance with Kenya’s Mining Act 2016 and the Mining (Award of Mineral Rights by Tender) Regulations 2017. Following the detailed assessment process, the Consortium has been invited to submit a formal Request for Proposal. RFP documentation, including the Terms of Reference, evaluation criteria and submission guidelines, is being made available by the State Department for Mining. RareX and its advisers will now prepare the Consortium’s detailed RFP submission per the timetable and requirements issued by Kenya’s mining authorities.
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Inside the RareX–Iluka proposition
The Consortium’s proposal for the Mrima Hill Project is anchored by Iluka Resources Limited’s Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery in Western Australia, providing an integrated mine to market solution. What differentiates this approach, according to Managing Director and CEO James Durrant, is that it doesn’t simply develop a mine. By combining Iluka’s Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery with a practical pathway to build local value chains, technical capability and skills in Kenya, the Consortium has developed what Durrant describes as a compelling solution that supports Kenya’s long-term objectives, local community expectations, and secure allied rare earth supply chains.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Kenya operations focus | Mining, beneficiation, initial rare earth processing, plus phosphate and manganese by-products |
| Downstream refining | Iluka Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery, commissioning 2027 |
| Government backing | A$1.65 billion non-recourse loan from Australian Government (financial close reached, progressively drawn) |
| Offtake | Binding Rare Earths and Mineral Sands Offtake Term Sheet with Iluka |
| Consortium funding | A$50 million Share Subscription Facility with GEM Global Yield LLC SCS |
The expert delivery team
The Consortium’s delivery capability is underpinned by a blue-chip technical and community team:
- Ausenco (US-owned) — EPCM contractor for the neighbouring Kwale Mineral Sands Project and funder of a local Kwale school, currently re-establishing its Kenyan operations in preparation for a successful RareX–Iluka bid
- AMC Consultants — Australia’s premier independent mining consultancy
- WSP — leading international socio-environmental planning specialist
- AWEMAC — Kenya’s own team ready to lead on-the-ground community engagement across Kwale County
- Curtin University scholarship programme — designed to facilitate knowledge transfer and help build long-term technical capability in Kenya
Why the Eneabba Refinery is the key to the bid
The rare earths value chain consists of several stages: mining, beneficiation, separation, and finally, refining into individual rare earth oxides. The separation stage is the most technically complex part of the process. Eneabba addresses this critical stage by providing the capability to separate individual rare earth elements and manage naturally occurring radioactive by-products, a capability achieved at only a small number of facilities globally outside China.
The Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery is expected to commence operations in 2027 and will be one of the few fully integrated rare earths refineries outside China capable of producing separated rare earth oxides (REOs), including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
For investors, the significance lies in risk mitigation. By leveraging an existing, near-commissioning, sovereign-backed refinery, the Consortium removes technical, financial and construction risk, providing a genuine speed-to-market advantage. The refinery is being constructed in strategic partnership with the Australian Government, which is providing Iluka with an A$1.65 billion non-recourse loan. The loan has reached financial close and is being progressively drawn as construction advances.
A western-aligned supply chain
Under the binding Rare Earths and Mineral Sands Offtake Term Sheet executed between RareX and Iluka, all rare earths concentrate produced at Mrima Hill would be refined at Eneabba into separated rare earth oxides for marketing into the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea. This arrangement is further supported by a Memorandum of Understanding with US Strategic Metals.
This positions RareX within allied and secure critical minerals supply chains outside China, addressing growing western demand for supply chain diversification in strategic materials. The integrated approach provides Kenya with a defined downstream processing pathway whilst creating a platform to progressively expand downstream processing capability within Kenya, establishing a regional critical minerals hub.
Director commentary
James Durrant, Managing Director and CEO
“Advancing to the Request for Proposal stage is a significant milestone for the Consortium and reflects the strength of the proposition we have developed for the Mrima Hill Project. What differentiates our proposal is that it doesn’t simply develop a mine. By combining Iluka’s Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery with a practical pathway to build local value chains, technical capability and skills in Kenya, we believe the Consortium has developed a compelling solution that supports Kenya’s long-term objectives, local community expectations, and secure allied rare earth supply chains. For RareX, this represents an important development into the next phase of the procurement process, and one we look forward to winning so we can develop this project in a manner the project, and the people of Kenya, deserve. We are sincerely grateful to the Kenyan government for recognising the potential of the RareX-Iluka consortium.”
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Next steps and what to watch
The Consortium will prepare its RFP submission in accordance with the timetable, Terms of Reference and evaluation criteria issued by Kenya’s State Department for Mining. RareX will continue working closely with Iluka and its advisers throughout the process and will keep the market informed of material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations. The A$50 million GEM Global Yield facility, provided by the US, New York-headquartered institutional investor with a global funding network spanning Paris and the Bahamas, is earmarked to fund the Consortium’s Year 1–3 work programme including construction of a pilot plant.
Investor watchlist:
- Submission and outcome of the RFP stage
- Eneabba Rare Earths Refinery commissioning in 2027
- Progress on Year 1–3 work programme and pilot plant construction
It should be noted that there are no guarantees the Consortium’s application for the Mrima Hill Project will be accepted. The grant of the Prospecting Licence remains at the discretion of NAMICO and the Cabinet Secretary, and the Consortium may be invited to negotiate terms for the proposed licence following the RFP stage.
About RareX
RareX is a critical minerals company specialising in rare earths, gallium, niobium and scandium in hard rock carbonatites. The exploration focus of the business includes the Khaleesi Project in the East Yilgarn, a district-scale elevated gallium and niobium alkaline intrusive complex, and the Piper Project bulls-eye anomaly in the Northern Territory along trend from both Nolans Bore and the Luni niobium deposit. The Company’s engineering focus is on the metallurgy of the Cummins Range Project, a carbonatite hosted rare earths and phosphate project. RareX has formed a consortium partnership with Iluka and has made a proposal for the Mrima Hill rare earth project in Kenya.
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