Kabanga Nickel is pleased to announce that BHP, the world leading resources company, has made an initial US$50 million investment in Kabanga Nickel and Lifezone with a further US$50 million investment agreed.
Located in Tanzania, Kabanga is the largest development-ready nickel sulphide deposit in the world, making it a vital part of the energy transition, given the role nickel plays in the development of Electric Vehicle batteries. The deposit contains in-situ nickel equivalent resources estimated at 1.86 million tonnes and an in-situ nickel equivalent grade of 3.44%.*
The project timeline anticipates first production in 2025, targeting minimum annual nickel equivalent production of 65,000 tonnes, with 30+ years life of mine.
At full capacity, Kabanga will produce 4,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt, ranking it as a top-10 global cobalt producer (based on 2021 production).
Kabanga will produce battery grade metals using its hydrometallurgy technology in Tanzania. This process uses 80% less power and produces 80% less emissions than conventional smelting.
Kabanga was the first new major mining project to receive a mining licence in a decade in Tanzania. The project is a partnership with the Government of Tanzania, which has a 16% interest through a local partnership entity.
Investment highlights include:
• US$40 million investment from BHP, to accelerate development of the Kabanga Nickel Project
• Further US$10 million investment to progress Lifezone’s technology
• Future investment tranches in Kabanga Nickel have been agreed subject to certain conditions, including a second tranche of US$50 million
• The right for BHP to make further investment subject to achieving certain agreed milestones.
