Kabanga Nickel Project
The Kabanga deposit is located in the north-west of Tanzania in the Ngara district of the Kagera region, close to the Burundi and Rwanda borders and approximately 1,320 km inland west of the main port of Dar es Salaam. The license area covers approximately 4,000 ha.
Kabanga is the largest development-ready nickel sulphide deposit in the world, unmatched in scale and grade, with at least 30 years life of mine and further exploration upside. An extensive amount of exploration and resource definition has been completed to date, setting the Kabanga nickel project on a well-defined path to production.
The Kabanga nickel project will be a cradle-to-gate mining operation producing Class 1 nickel, cobalt and copper refined metals in Tanzania by adopting a hydrometallurgical processing technology that is more cost efficient than smelting and has a significantly lower environmental impact.
Based on approximately 600 km of drilling, Kabanga’s previous owners, Barrick Gold Corporation and Glencore, published a Resource Estimate (Measured, Indicated and Inferred) in 2014 of 58 million tonnes of ore at an average in-situ nickel grade of 2.62%. Mineralization of the resource is greater than 95% massive sulphide.
Kabanga Mineral Resources Estimates [1] as at December 31, 2014:
| Tonnes (Mt) | Ni Grade (%) | Cu Grade (%) | Co Grade (%) | |
| Measured | 13.8 | 2.49% | 0.34% | 0.21% |
| Indicated | 23.4 | 2.72% | 0.36% | 0.19% |
| Inferred | 20.8 | 2.6% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
A Framework Agreement that defines the relationship between Kabanga Nickel Limited and the Government of Tanzania has been concluded between the parties on 19 January 2021. The Kabanga project is owned by Tembo Mining Limited (“Tembo”) of which Kabanga Nickel owns 84% and the Government of Tanzania the remaining 16%, in accordance with current mineral legislation. The Agreement confirms the conditions of a Special Mining License to be issued to Tembo, a Refining License and the commercial terms applicable to Tembo. Fundamental to the Framework Agreement is a partnership model that incorporates an equitable sharing of economic benefits arising from the project.
Kabanga Nickel is committed to developing and operating a world class sustainable mine of the future that minimises its physical and environmental footprint while at the same time delivering value to all our stakeholders, including shareholders, the host nation, local communities and employees. By refining all metals in-country, rather than exporting concentrate to be processed elsewhere, Kabanga Nickel will ensure that value addition is maximised within Tanzania, thereby generating greater economic growth and skills development. Kabanga Nickel's metals production will have a significantly lower environmental impact and be more cost-efficient with the application of hydromet refining technology in place of energy-intensive smelting.
Kabanga Nickel's strategy is to sustainably deliver high-grade Class 1 nickel, copper and cobalt products to feed increasing demand from Electric Vehicle (EV) battery production. The EV and energy storage markets are rapidly expanding as the world pushes to decarbonize, thereby accelerating the need for essential battery minerals such as class 1 nickel which is a key component in the manufacturing of battery cathodes.
References
- "Glencore" (PDF).