According to Mining Network, global mining company Lifezone Metals announced on Monday that it has successfully obtained a $60 million bridge loan from Taurus Mining Finance Fund. This fund will be specifically used for the early engineering and infrastructure construction of its flagship project, Kabanga Nickel Mine, located in the northwest of Tanzania. As one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped sulfide nickel mines in the world, the development process of the Kabanga project has thus taken a crucial step forward. The Kabanga nickel mine is regarded by the industry as one of the most promising undeveloped nickel mines globally, with resources exceeding 2 million tons of nickel metal (sulfide deposit), along with considerable amounts of copper and cobalt. If successfully developed, the mine is expected to become an important new production capacity in the global nickel supply chain, especially in the context of the significant increase in nickel demand for electric vehicle batteries. "This loan further confirms Lifezone's strategic preparations for the full ownership of Kabanga Nickel Industry Company (KNL)," said Chris Showalter, the chief executive officer of Lifezone. In July this year, Lifezone acquired 17% of KNL from global mining giant BHP for $83 million, thus achieving 100% control over KNL (KNL originally held 84% of the Kabanga project rights, with the remaining 16% held by the Tanzanian government). It is notable that BHP previously committed to investing $1 billion in the mine, but has adjusted its focus on the nickel business due to changes in the market environment. This acquisition not only gives Lifezone full control of the project (including 100% marketing rights), but also clears the key obstacles on the development path.
At the same time as completing the equity acquisition, Lifezone simultaneously released an updated feasibility study report for the Kabanga project. The report shows that the project's ore reserves have been upgraded to 52.2 million tons, with a nickel grade of 1.98%, copper of 0.27%, and cobalt of 0.15%. According to the plan, the mine will operate for 18 years, and the concentrator is expected to produce a total of 902,000 tons of nickel, 134,000 tons of copper, and 69,000 tons of cobalt (intermediate products). From an economic perspective, the project's after-tax net present value (discount rate of 8%) is $1.58 billion, with an internal rate of return of 23.3%, indicating strong investment return potential. Lifezone stated that the bridge loan provided by Taurus will be used to maintain the progress of the project in the "execution preparation stage" and fill the funding gap between the completion of the feasibility study (currently) and the final investment decision (expected in mid-2026). Showalter emphasized: "With this fund, we can not only accelerate key early development work, but also simultaneously advance the strategic cooperation negotiations with Standard Chartered Bank and introduce more strategic investors."
