Lifezone Metals (NYSE: LZM) said on Tuesday its flagship project in Tanzania has gained further recognition from the US government following a meeting with the nations’ key officials regarding further investment initiatives in Africa’s critical minerals.
The company is currently developing the Kabanga project in Tanzania, believed to be one of the world’s largest and highest-grade undeveloped nickel sulfide deposits, containing 881,000 tonnes of measured and indicated nickel metal and 391,000 tonnes of nickel inferred.
The Kabanga project is expected to anchor a fully integrated mine-to-metal operation that will enable a fully auditable supply chain with production of refined, LME-grade nickel, plus copper and cobalt. Once complete, it would become the first metal processing operation of its kind in Tanzania.
The project will also be supported by a refinery in Kahama that utilizes Lifezone’s hydrometallurgical (or Hydromet) that has the potential to replace smelting for base and precious metals refining.
Development of the Kabanga project is expected to take two phases, with 1.7 million tonnes mined per year in Phase 1 and another 1.7 million tonnes added in Phase 2. The specifics will be included in a definitive feasibility study, which Lifezone aims to complete this quarter.
Last month, the project produced its first nickel metal since its discovery in 1975.
The government discussions, the company said, centred around the ongoing progress and future potential of the project. This involved key US representatives from the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) and the US ambassador to Tanzania.
During the meetings, the US government highlighted the importance of the Kabanga project to help advance the energy transition and as a model of strategic economic cooperation between the US and Tanzania. This collaboration was previously showcased at the US-Africa Summit in 2022 and reinforced by Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit to Tanzania in 2023.
Following the discussions, Lifezone’s subsidiary, Kabanga Nickel, signed a retainer letter with the US International Development Finance Corporation to commence the evaluation process for political risk insurance coverage for future investments into the mine site and the Kahama refinery.
Lifezone said it is proposing “a comprehensive investment plan” that seeks to secure the future of the project.
Through these collaborative efforts and discussions, Lifezone aims to strengthen partnerships and secure investments that will contribute to the sustainable development of critical minerals resources in Africa, it stated.
CEO Chris Showalter noted that the US government’s recognition through the PGI and identification of Kabanga as a project within the Mineral Security Partnership “demonstrates its significance for like-minded partners as well as for the US.”
“The Kabanga project exemplifies the goals of sustainable development — ‘for Tanzanians, by Tanzanians’ — that Vice President Harris articulated during her 2023 visit,” Helaina Matza, Acting Special Coordinator of the PGI, added.
