Nairobi, March 5 -- Kwale miner Base Titanium has set aside Sh1.1 billion ($7.7 million) to compensate hundreds of workers set to be laid off as it winds down its Kenyan operation by the end of this year.

The company made the redundancy provision in its financials for the six months ended December 2023, indicating that it is on course to close down the Kwale operation upon the depletion of commercially viable ore.

Base Resources, the Australian parent of Base Titanium, will then focus on a new operation in Madagascar where it expects to make its first titanium shipment by August 2027.

As per the latest Base resources annual report, the Kenyan subsidiary had a total of 1,746 employees and contractors on its books by June 2023.

The 2023...