Kabanga, Tanzania to develop world’s largest nickel deposit
British miner Kabanga Nickel, formerly known as LZ Nickel, has inked a framework agreement with the government of Tanzania to develop the world’s largest battery-grade nickel sulphide deposit, in the country’s northwestern.
As part of the deal, the parties have created a joint company called Tembo Nickel Corp., which will mine, process and refine class 1 nickel with cobalt and copper co-products.
Kabanga Nickel is the new entity’s majority owner with an 84% stake. Tanzania owns the remaining 16%, which is the government’s usual stake in all of the country’s mining projects.
Economic benefits from the Kabanga nickel project, formerly owned by Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) and Glencore (LON: GLEN), will be shared equally between the two shareholders, the parties said in the statement.
Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest gold producer, has sought in recent years higher revenues from its vast mineral resources by overhauling the fiscal and regulatory regime of its mining sector.
Barrick and Glencore lost the nickel project in 2018, when President John Magufuli’s administration revoked their retention licence, along with 10 others.
The move followed the suspension of new mining permits and the passing of two bills giving Dar es Salaam the right to renegotiate or revoke existing licences.
The Kabanga project hosts an in situ mineral resource of 58 million tonnes at 2.62% Ni containing more than 1.52 million tonnes (3.30 billion pounds) of nickel. It also has significant amounts of cobalt and copper with a 30-year mine life.
