Tanzania make plans to become East Africa’s refinery centre

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

Kabanga Nickel Ltd (KNL) has identified a shared vision with the government of Tanzania to make the country the epicentre of mining activities in the East African region through the use of eco-friendly value-addition technology: hydromet.

The company, which is implementing the extraction of the world’s largest development-ready nickel sulphide deposit in Tanzania, has recently secured a $100 million investment for the project from the global resource firm BHP.

Part of the investment – $10 million – was allocated to Lifezone Limited for their hydrometallurgical processing technologies which will give Tanzania the most advanced minerals processing technology.

Speaking in an interview during his visit at the Mwananchi Communications Limited headquarters yesterday, Kabanga Nickel’s chief executive officer Chris Showalter said the plan is to make Tanzania a hydromet hub in the East African region.

“We intend to be able to provide refining for multiple other mining operations in Tanzania and also as part of the government vision to make the country the centre of activities in East Africa and we think we can assist in that vision to make Tanzania a hydromet beneficiation hub for the region,” he said.

The Lifezone hydromet is said to be more cost-efficient than smelting and has a significantly lower environmental impact.

The technology will also ensure that finished Class 1 battery grade nickel, copper and cobalt will be produced in Tanzania in efforts to maximise the country’s value addition capability.

While the advanced technology would require high skilled jobs, Kabanga Nickel’s country manager Benedict Busunzu said opportunities for Tanzania would be available as they plan to also source local talents.

“We will be putting in a system of operations to ensure that all the opportunities are also available for Tanzanians to take part in, and this is from the construction phase to the development of the mine,” he said.