Kwale bids farewell to minefields as Base Titanium prepares for exit

The Base Titanium mining plant in Kwale County as captured on June 29, 2022.

Over the past decade, hundreds of families in Kwale County have benefited from the activities of Base Titanium.

The company started its ilmenite, rutile and zircon mining operations in the region, creating many jobs and improving livelihoods in other ways.

As the company winds down its operations, the Herculean task of restoring the mined areas to their natural state is quietly underway.

Base Titanium Limited, based in Msambweni Constituency, has so far managed to turn most of what would have been wasteland into green fields, covering all the pits and areas mined over the past 10 years.

Base Titanium produces ilmenite, rutile and zircon, all of which are considered critical minerals and are extracted from underground by hydraulic means. This has an impact on the ecological landscape of the mined areas.

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“It is our policy that we have to leave the land as it was [before] the mining processes. This is to allow it to serve other purposes in future,” says External Affairs Manager Simon Wall.

An aerial view of some of the mined land earlier this year would have shown areas of pure orange soil, meaning that all the mined land had been left bare.

But that has changed, and a stretch of more than 200 hectares of land is now filled with forest, green grass and indigenous trees. The Australian company is expected to close up shop in 2024, completing its first-ever mission in Kenya, and it’s now putting the finishing touches to the site.

“This is under the Post Mining Land Use rehabilitation project that ensures the land which had been mined on to be made available for economic activities, conservation, and diverse community uses,” Wall said.

Fertiliser and mulch

To return the land to its original state, Wall says that the topsoil is usually moved and conserved before mining begins. After the exercise, the land is immediately levelled with the topsoil. The soil is then amended with a minimum of fertiliser and mulch, and vegetation is planted using seed grass, mostly supplied by local farmers.

Once the process is complete, the rehabilitation officers continue to monitor the flora and fauna species to ensure that diversity is restored.

This is easy, he says, because water is used throughout the extraction process, rather than chemicals, to ensure there is no contamination of the soil.

In its latest sustainability report, the company also stated that a total of 113 bird species have been recorded, pioneer butterfly species have been observed and amphibian and reptile species have been recorded through monitoring by biodiversity specialists from the National Museums of Kenya and African Butterfly Research.

He said this was in addition to finding ways to ensure it continues to operate in an environmentally responsible manner to avoid any negative impact on the community.

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“Our rehabilitation activities are focused on reforestation, increasing biodiversity, and developing agricultural opportunities for our host communities,” said Wall, adding that the ongoing mine rehabilitation activities are about restoring landscapes for future use after mining activity.

Variety of crops

As well as planting trees, the company also carries out soil testing to ensure that there is a variety of crops that can be grown on the land. These include maize, cabbage, sorghum, sesame and ginger.

This comes as the company prepares to exit next year, having exhausted all the minerals in the licence areas since it began operations in 2013. It also puts the jobs of hundreds of employees at risk.

Speaking to theNation, Wall said it has now been confirmed that operations will end in 2024 after recent exploration activities in selected areas of Kwale County revealed lower mineral grades.

“It is heartbreaking and has all of us employees on the edge (of our seats). We have, however, increased our counselling programmes to make sure those distressed seek services early enough and can accept the situation,” he said.

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The Nation understands that most employees, both local and expatriate, are expected to be out of work by next year.

Wall said as the company prepares to leave, it is also focusing on finding ways to ensure its employees find alternative employment after next year through international referrals.

However, the changes that would follow the company’s departure would not only affect the company internally but would also deal a heavy blow to the communities in Kwale County.

Thousands of host communities have already felt the impact of mining firm, with scholarships, community centres, roads, hospitals, water projects and schools built. This infrastructure has given Msambweni Constituency a facelift.

In addition to the structures, residents have received food donations, while more businesses have been set up in the area.

“This is sad. We are not sure about [the future of] the many pupils who have been under the scholarship,” said Fatuma Saidi, a local businesswoman from Magaoni.

Communities have also received development funds through the Community Development Agreement Committees, which were launched in 2021.

Taxes and royalties

Nationally, the government would miss out on billions of shillings in revenue from taxes and royalties from mining companies.

Kwale Assistant County Commissioner Jael Mumbe praised the company, saying it had set standards for all mining companies operating in the country, both internally and in terms of community empowerment.

Despite these efforts to restore the land to its original state, a mystery remains as to who will inherit the leased mining land amidst demands by some of the resettled residents to reclaim it.

Wall said the company was legally required to return the land to the government, which would decide what to do with it.

“We have already made some proposals to ensure that the land does not go to waste. These include projects on agriculture, plant and industrial training, a nature park and several other options, which we hope that they will adopt,” he said.

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