Mineral sands miner Base Resources has been boosted by a Kenyan Government decision not to enforce new resource nationalism rules on its fledgling project.
The announcement comes as welcome news for Base, which has lost ground since Kenya introduced the new laws, which require the Government to take a 35 per cent stake in mining projects.
In a statement Base said the new rules did not apply to its wholly-owned Kwale Mineral Sands project because its licence had been issued before the laws were introduced.
“The Attorney General's advice that the regulations can only be applied to mining licences issued after the regulations came into force, being 12 October 2012, corroborates the legal advice previously received by Base in this respect,” the company said.
While Base will retain ownership of the project, the company said over time it would work to promote “greater Kenan equity” in Base and the wider mining industry.
The $300 million Kwale project is due to make its first bulk shipments in November.