“I think Tiomin is trying to enslave us again. This area has a history of slavery. My own great grandfather was brought up here as a slave. I would hate to see that in the year 2000 these things are coming back again -- because basically that is what it means if Tiomin is allowed to put up that facility there.”

—Ted Majaliwa Kombo, in Dongo Kundu

Stop Irresponsible Mining on Tropical Coast / Kenya - Victory

The coastline of Kenya, from the port of Shimoni to the ancient village of Mambrui, is under severe environmental threat from irresponsible mining. The Kenyan coast is a stunning tropical paradise, with its 250 miles of palm-fringed beaches, blue lagoons and magnificent coral reef. Tourism, Kenya's largest industry, depends on its pristine beauty. Many endangered species, including the only bands of Colobus monkeys on the East African coast and Kenya's last remaining herds of Sable antelope, depend on the coast's fragile ecosystem which is already stressed by the impacts of tourism.

Conservation International lists Kenya's coastal forest as one of the world's 25 "hotspots" -- places of extraordinary biodiversity that are seriously threatened. A new threat now endangers these forests as well as coastal waters and the agricultural communities of the Digo and Kamba peoples.

Canadian mining company Tiomin Resources, Inc. is negotiating an agreement with the Kenyan government to strip-mine four coastal sites for titanium, primarily used to make a white pigment for paint, plastic and paper. The first site, 64 square kilometers in Kwale District, will be mined for at least 14 years. It will generate around $47 million in annual cash flow, according to a Tiomin news release. All vegetation and physical structures will be removed, and mineral deposits will be exposed to a depth of more than 30 meters.

A coalition of local communities, conservation and human rights organizations called the Coast Mining Rights Forum is energetically protesting the Tiomin titanium mine. They charge that Tiomin violated Kenyan law by negotiating agreements before an independent Environmental Impact Study was completed and without the consent of the affected population - around 5,000 people at the Kwale site alone.

In Kwale, indigenous Digo and Kamba peoples plant coconuts, maize, beans, rice and cassava between the coastal forests and dunes. Tiomin says it will relocate these farming families for up to 20 years during the mining operation, then "rehabilitate" the region and let the farmers return - but Tiomin has provided no written plan for the relocation nor for the environmental rehabilitation. The agreement commits Tiomin to pay relocated farmers an annual lease amounting to a pitiful $.07 per day, plus a US$150 relocation benefit.

Kenyan scientists warn that it may never be safe for people to live in the area after Tiomin mines it. When community organizations commissioned an independent Environmental Impact Study by professors at Kenyatta University, they found "appreciable amounts" of radioactive uranium and thorium in the titanium deposits. Tiomin has offered no plan to monitor radiation, nor appropriate precautions for worker safety and prevention of soil and water contamination.

The Kenyatta University EIS also warns that titanium mining will cause erosion and siltation of rivers and coastal waters, damaging coral reefs and mangrove ecosystems that are already affected by pollution. If Tiomin is allowed to build a major port at Shimoni, the fledgling local eco-tourism industry will give way to industrialization dominated by a multinational corporation. As public opposition mounts, one government agency, the Kenya Wildlife Services, has openly challenged the Tiomin project.

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