Two of the world's superpowers, the United States of America and China, are currently in a battle to claim a sacred hill in Kenya, believed to be rich in rare earths.
Reportedly, these minerals are vital to high-tech and low-carbon industries, making the small forest very desirable to both economies.
The forest is called Mrima and covers 390 acres and is located near the Indian Ocean coastline.
So far, a consortium of two Australian mining firms has already announced a bid to mine rare earths on the site, and locals say land speculators are flocking to the area.
As such, the locals from at least five villages fear being evicted from the area as more foreign companies move in.
The Digo community, for instance, fear that they will be evicted or denied a share in the earnings from future mining endeavours by the foreigners.
There is also the issue of the forest being host to their sacred shrines.
Mrima Hill has also long supported farming and livelihoods in the area, whose population mostly lives in extreme poverty.
So far, the hill has been embroiled in several legal battles as the locals fight to protect their land, and investors keep bidding and applying for licenses.
In 2013, the government revoked the mining license that had been issued to a Kenyan firm to mine in the area, citing environmental and licensing irregularities.
However, the company argued in a lawsuit that it had been revoked after they failed to pay a bribe to the then mining CS, an accusation he denied.
In 2019, the government imposed a temporary ban on new mining licences over concerns about corruption and environmental degradation.
Earlier this year, however, it introduced several reforms, including tax breaks and improved licensing transparency, aimed at attracting investors and boosting the sector from 0.8 per cent of GDP to 10 per cent by 2030.
This is a particularly major opportunity for China, which is the biggest source of rare earths and has been cultivating a diplomatic relationship with Kenya for years.
President Donald Trump's administration, on the other hand, has made securing critical minerals central to its diplomacy in Africa, including through a peace deal in the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo this year.
