Overview of the Kabanga site camp
NEW YORK-- Lifezone Metals Limited’s (NYSE: LZM) Chief Executive Officer, Chris Showalter, and Chief Operating Officer, Gerick Mouton, announce the results from the Initial Assessment for its flagship Kabanga Nickel Project in northwest Tanzania. The Initial Assessment evaluates a vertically integrated mining, processing and refining operation, commencing with a high-grade nickel sulfide underground mine and concentrator at the Kabanga site, followed five years later by a hydrometallurgical refinery at Kahama. The study covers the Main, MNB, Kima, North, and Tembo zones and is based on the December 2024 Mineral Resource Update (refer to Lifezone’s December 5, 2024 news release). The Initial Assessment Technical Report Summary has been filed on Form 6-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and made available on EDGAR and the Company’s investor relations website.
Lifezone expects to complete the Kabanga Feasibility Study Technical Report Summary in July 2025, which will focus on the initial development phase of the underground mine and concentrator.
Initial Assessment Technical Report Summary highlights:
This Initial Assessment is preliminary in nature and the economic analysis includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have modifying factors applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves and there is no certainty that this economic assessment will be realized.
· 22-year mine plan with a 3.4 million tonnes per annum underground mining operation with total production of 67.9 million tonnes grading 1.93% nickel, 0.26% copper and 0.14% cobalt.
· 3.4 million tonnes per annum concentrator, producing high-grade nickel, copper, and cobalt concentrate containing a total of 1.15 million tonnes of nickel, 171,000 tonnes of copper and 87,000 tonnes of cobalt.
· Hydrometallurgical refinery production design capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes per annum of nickel contained in battery-grade sulfate, up to 7,000 tonnes per annum of London Metal Exchange Grade A 99.99% copper cathode and up to 4,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt in sulfate.
· Pre-production capital cost of $991 million, which includes a contingency of 16.1%, with total mine plan revenue from sales estimated at approximately $23.68 billion and after-tax free cash flow of $8.03 billion.
· After-tax net present value of $2.37 billion using an 8.0% discount rate and after-tax internal rate of return of 22.9%, based on flat metal prices of $8.49 per pound nickel, $4.30 per pound copper, and $18.31 per pound cobalt.
· Low all-in sustaining costs for refined nickel products averaging $2.71 per pound, net of copper and cobalt by-product credits.
Mr. Showalter commented: “The Kabanga Nickel Project represents a rare opportunity to develop a large-scale, high-grade nickel Mineral Resource with robust economics and a clear staged development path to production. The Initial Assessment highlights the project’s potential to deliver positive returns over a long life, supported by a low-cost operating profile, with approximately 80% of the project’s value attributed to the Kabanga mine and concentrator. Our partnership with the Government of Tanzania has been instrumental in advancing the project, and Lifezone remains aligned in our commitment to responsible development and long-term value creation. With the Feasibility Study on track for completion in July, we are very well-positioned to advance the project.”
Mr. Mouton added: “Today marks a significant and historic milestone in the nearly five-decade journey of the Kabanga Nickel Project. For the first time, Lifezone has successfully completed and publicly disclosed a technical-economic Initial Assessment in accordance with U.S. SEC Regulation S-K 1300. This landmark disclosure confirms the reasonable prospects for economic extraction and affirms the project's robust foundation. The Initial Assessment underscores the technical integrity and scalability of Kabanga. Through disciplined engineering and extensive analysis, the Lifezone team has systematically de-risked the development of the underground mine and concentrator. The adopted staged development approach provides a high level of confidence in our ability to deliver a project that is both economically resilient and operationally robust. We remain focused on maintaining this momentum and look forward to the planned completion and release of the Feasibility Study in July 2025.”
TUESDAY: Webcast with Lifezone’s technical leadership team at 10:00 AM ET
The company invites shareholders, investors, and members of the media to join a virtual presentation and discussion of the key highlights of the Initial Assessment.