5th Jun 2014 11:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Base Resources Ltd Thursday said it has received an invoice from the Kwale County government in Kenya, which applies a USD57 per tonne levy on exports from its Kwale mineral sands project, and it is disputing the matter with the relevant authorities.
The miner said the levy applies to exports of ilmenite and rutile from the site, and it disputes the constitutional validity of the decision.
The company said it is now working with Kwale County and the Kenyan national government to rectify the matter by having the invoice withdrawn and the levy repealed.
Base Resources said it has received legal advice that Kwale County does not have legislative authority under the Kenyan constitution to impose such a levy and that all rights to manage and administer minerals are exclusively reserved to the Kenyan national government.
It said it is confident that the matter can be resolved shortly but said that if the invoice is not withdrawn or the levy repealed, it may take legal action to have the levy declared unconstitutional and therefore void.
The company commissioned its mineral separation plant at the site in December, exported its first 25,000 bulk shipment of ilmenite in February and exported its first 7,000 tonne bulk shipment of rutile, along with the first containers of zircon during April.
Base Resources shares were untraded at 20.75 pence on Thursday.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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