Kabanga Nickel Industry Company, Raising $1.3 Billion For Nickel Project Of Tanzania Said Can Meet The Demand Of Musk To Nickel

Kabanga Nickel is seeking to raise $1.3 billion for a large mining project in Tanzania that it says could help ease demand for nickel from electric car makers.

Kabanga is trying to raise funds for a $950m mine and a $350m smelter to be developed simultaneously in the north-west of the country. The project will produce up to 50,000 tonnes of nickel plates a year, as well as small amounts of copper and cobalt. The company plans to start production by 2024 and reach stable production status by 2025.

"We are very well positioned to start servicing Mr. Musk and all the other strategic battery-electric vehicles," said Showalter, the company's CEO. Competition among electric car companies to secure future supplies gives Kabanga a considerable competitive advantage when negotiating with investors, he adds.

Kabanga Nickel Is the majority owner of Tembo Nickel Group and owns 84 percent of the joint venture, with the Tanzanian government holding 16 percent. The nickel project was previously held by Barrick Gold and Glencore, whose joint venture lost its license for undeveloped projects in 2018.

In recent years, the Tanzanian government has sought to extract greater benefits from its vast mineral resources by overhauling its financial and regulatory systems for the mining industry.

Kabanga plans to process the metal in smelting, a process that uses less electricity and reduces its carbon footprint, which could help it sell its products at a higher price.

"The world needs clean nickel, and we won't be the only solution, but we have the next fast-growing project," Showalter said.

The Kabanga Nickel project has an ore resource of 58 million tonnes with a grade of 2.62% nickel and over 1.52 million tonnes of nickel metal. The deposit also contains significant cobalt and copper and has a life of 30 years.