The African mineral sands producer will cease operations at the end of the year.

Base Titanium is the 100% owner of the operation which commenced production in late 2013. Kwale is designed to process ore to recover three main products: rutile, ilmenite and zircon.

A quarterly release on 30 January 2024 confirmed that on completion of the evaluation of two remaining near-mine prospective areas, it had been concluded that both lack sufficient grade or scale to support an extension of mining operations beyond December 2024 when the current mine plan is expected to end. Processing operations will finish shortly afterwards.

Kwale is Kenya's largest mineral sands mine and a flagship project under the Kenya Vision 2030 development blueprint. As such, the closure will be a loss to the local economy. The Kwale operation currently accounts for approximately 65% of Kenya’s mining industry by mineral output value. The closure plan was initially announced in October 2023, although an exhaustive exploration and evaluation process was undertaken in the hope of extending the operations.