Overview
Tanzania’s nickel potential is located in the northwestern parts of the country where the focus has been on the Kabanga and Kagera nickel projects. The Kabanga project is the most advanced, and has resources estaimted at containing 12.7 Mt grading at 2.1% nickel, 0.3% copper and 0.16% cobalt. In 1999 Anglo American pulled out of the $250 million project with Barrick, selling its 60% stake to a subsidiary of Barrick. Kabanga consists of two separate orebodies that will produce a combined 860 000t of ore/year.
In February 2004, Barrick Gold signed a letter of intent with fellow Canadian miner, Falconbridge Ltd, for the latter to earn a 50% interest in Kabanga by funding the next US$45 million of expenditure within a defined work programme and completing a feasibility study within a three-year option period. Barrick has carried out some exploration work at Kabanga and has estimated the total inferred resource at some 26.4 Mt averaging 2.6%.