工程巨头氟化工公司（FLR.N）是竞逐开发肯尼亚姆里马山关键矿产矿床的一组以美国投资者为主的竞标者之一，此前两家中国公司退出了该程序，肯尼亚矿业部长周五告诉路透社。他说，最终决定将在三周内宣布。
Engineering giant Fluor Corp (FLR.N) is among a group of mostly US investors vying to develop Kenya's Mrima Hill critical minerals deposit, after two Chinese companies pulled out of the process, Kenya's mining minister told Reuters on Friday. A final decision would be announced within three weeks, he said.
路透社首次报道了氟化工公司的投标、最终宣布的时间以及中国公司——湖南有色金属研究院和济南宇啸集团有限公司——退出的消息。
Reuters is first to report Fluor Corp's bid, the timing of the final announcement and the withdrawal of the Chinese companies — Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group Co. Ltd.
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普已将确保关键矿产获取渠道列为其政府的优先事项，与多个非洲国家签署协议，因为华盛顿寻求减少对头号生产国中国的依赖，中国主导全球供应链，且近年来收紧了出口管制。中国也是非洲矿业领域的主导参与者。
US President Donald Trump has made securing access to critical minerals a priority of his administration, inking deals with a number of African nations as Washington looks to cut dependence on top producer China, which dominates the global supply chain and has tightened export controls in recent years. China is also a dominant player in Africa's mining industry.
肯尼亚矿业部长哈桑·阿里·乔霍表示，10月21日有五家竞标者提交了位于肯尼亚南部、距港口城市蒙巴萨约65公里（40英里）的姆里马山矿床的投标书。它们包括两个美国财团、一个美国关联财团、一个澳大利亚财团和一个肯尼亚-英国合资企业。
Kenya's mining minister Hassan Ali Joho said that five contenders had submitted tenders on October 21 for the Mrima Hill deposit in southern Kenya, around 65 kilometres (40 miles) from the port city of Mombasa. They include two US consortia, one US-affiliated consortium, an Australian consortium and a Kenyan-British joint venture.
“美国实体通过参与我们透明的程序以确定姆里马山的开发商，强烈展示或证明了兴趣，”乔霍在采访中说。
"American entities have strongly showcased or demonstrated interest by participating in our transparent process in identifying the developer of Mrima Hill," Joho said in an interview.
“在未来两三周内，我们应该能够将姆里马山授予中标者。”乔霍表示，初步迹象显示，该沿海矿床蕴藏价值数百亿美元的稀土矿产和铌，铌是一种用于航空航天制造的金属，其矿床主要在巴西和加拿大开采。
"Within the next two, three weeks we should be able to award Mrima Hills to the successful bidder." Joho said preliminary indicators suggested that the coastal deposit contains tens of billions of dollars' worth of rare earth minerals and niobium, a metal used in aerospace manufacturing with deposits primarily mined in Brazil and Canada.
两个美国财团分别是 Meridian Mineral Holdings（包含 Fluor Corp 和 Tetra Tech）以及 Frontier Minerals LLC（包含稀土初创企业 ReElement Technologies）。Joho 还表示，一个名为 Mrima Earth 的美国关联财团也在入围名单上，由 Critical Metals Corp 牵头，该公司正在推进格陵兰的 Tanbreez 稀土项目。
The two US consortia are Meridian Mineral Holdings, which includes Fluor Corp and Tetra Tech, and Frontier Minerals LLC, which includes rare earths startup ReElement Technologies. Joho also said a US-affiliated consortium called Mrima Earth was on the shortlist, led by Critical Metals Corp, which is pursuing the Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland.
一个名为 Gem of Dreams 的肯尼亚-英国合资企业也提交了投标，澳大利亚的 RareX 与 Iluka Resources 组成的联合体同样提交了投标。
A Kenyan-British joint venture called Gem of Dreams also submitted a tender, as has Australia's RareX in a tie-up with Iluka Resources.
澳大利亚联合体的一名代表表示，他们对该报道不予置评。其他四个财团和中国公司未立即回应置评请求。
A representative for the Australian joint venture said they had no comment to make on the story. The other four consortia and the Chinese companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Joho 称他不知道中国公司退出的原因，并补充说肯尼亚政府没有直接与投标方接触。
Joho said he did not know the reason for the Chinese firms' withdrawal, adding that the Kenyan government did not directly engage with the bidders.
“我们没有与任何人进行过任何对话，也没有向任何人提供任何替代方案……我们想要一个透明的过程，”他说。
"We haven't had any conversation with anybody and we haven't offered any alternative to anybody... We want a transparent process," he said.
两名直接了解情况的消息人士告诉路透社，中国公司在上周 Mrima Hill 招标截止当天，还为肯尼亚的其他国家矿业项目提交了投标。目前尚不清楚哪些项目收到了投标，但两名消息人士均表示，当天还有针对钽铌铁矿、锰、铜和铬铁矿项目的其他四个招标截止。
Two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the Chinese firms had bid for other state mining projects in Kenya on the same day that the Mrima Hill tender was due last week. It was not immediately clear which projects received bids but both sources said four other tenders for coltan, manganese, copper and chromite projects were due that day.
Joho 告诉路透社，其中一家中国公司当天确实为另一个项目提交了投标，但拒绝详细说明，称这会损害流程的公正性。
Joho told Reuters that one of the Chinese companies did file a bid for another project the same day, but declined to elaborate, saying it would compromise the process.
他说，肯尼亚在该问题上没有面临来自北京或华盛顿的“任何压力”。
He said Kenya had faced "no pressure" from either Beijing or Washington on the issue.
“我不认为任何人有资格告诉我们如何以及与谁合作。我们的决定纯粹基于本国的利益。”近年来，非洲国家推动在国内加工更多自产矿产，标志着向在非洲大陆保留更多价值的转变。
"I don't think it is in the place of anybody to tell us on how and who to work with. Our decisions purely are informed on the interest of this country." African nations have pushed in recent years to process more of the minerals they produce domestically, marking a shift toward keeping more value on the continent.
肯尼亚总统威廉·鲁托6月告诉路透社，其政府即将与美国达成一项关键矿产协议，根据该协议，内罗毕将在国内加工本国资源。
Kenya's President William Ruto told Reuters in June that his government was close tog a critical minerals deal with the United States, under which Nairobi would process its own resources domestically.
特朗普政府官员也表示，美国打算帮助肯尼亚发展关键矿产加工产业。
Officials in the Trump administration have also said the US intends to help Kenya develop a critical minerals processing industry.
美国国务院发言人告诉路透社，美国公司拥有良好的业绩记录，并致力于本地加工。
A US State Department spokesperson told Reuters that US companies had proven track records and a commitment to local processing.
“美国政府将抓住一切机会，帮助美国企业投资新兴领域和发展中经济体，包括采矿业，”该发言人说。
"The US Government will take every opportunity to help American businesses invest in emerging sectors and developing economies, including the mining sector," the spokesperson said.
鲁托此前曾表示，肯尼亚不会在华盛顿和北京之间二选一，而是将寻求符合自身经济优先事项的多重伙伴关系。
Ruto has previously said that Kenya would not choose between Washington and Beijing, but instead pursue multiple partnerships aligned with its own economic priorities.
除了稀土和铌，肯尼亚据信还拥有大量未开发的锂、石墨、铜和镍矿藏。
In addition to rare earths and niobium, Kenya is also believed to have large untapped deposits of lithium, graphite, copper and nickel.