"Taita who gave up land for mining agonise as virus stalls extraction"

The news of a mining company seeking to extract manganese at a village in Taita Taveta county was a godsend to residents. The people at Mbabarenyi village, Mwatate subcounty, had long suffered poverty and the Australian company's arrival in 2018 promised a windfall. However, the Universal Resources International Company was still preparing to initiate prospecting when the coronavirus pandemic struck...More than 36 families whose land was acquired to pave way for the extraction agreed with the investor that they would get at least 1 per cent of the total sales every month.

However, the company is yet to export minerals, two years after the deal...Resident Jacob Maghanga, who chairs the landowners' committee, said the company had brought a ray of hope to the area after close to 10 years of prospecting activities. The community was delighted to welcome the project, hoping it would light up their lives. “Even before we received the first batch of payment, the company closed down because it could no longer extract manganese. They have severely been hit by the lockdown and cessation of movement,” he told the Star...

The company's director, Lloyd Mark Stephenson, said the quantity of manganese deposit found can be extracted for 50-100 years, while exporting over 100,000 tons of pure manganese every year. With lockdown in many countries, the company boss said they have not been able to fix key machines in the processing area. The machines were to be imported from abroad. “Engineers who were to set the machines are still locked in the Netherlands. This has delayed operationalisation,” Lloyd said. The machines at the site can produce at least 100 tons per day, adding up to 3,000 tons per month.