Name of the Project
Kanyika niobium project.

Location
About 55 km north-east of the regional centre of Kasangu, in central Malawi.

Project Owner/s
Globe Metals & Mining.

Project Description
Kanyika is positioned to be the first ever niobium mine in Africa.

The project will be developed in two phases.

Phase 1 involves the development of an  86 000 t/y run-of-mine operation producing 1 760 t/y of concentrate for shipment to a planned refinery, in Lilongwe.

Phase 2 will expand the operation to 1.5-million tonnes a year producing 17 700 t/y of concentrate. This phase also includes a refinery to be built in Malawi.

Kanyika will have nameplate production of 3 267 t/y of niobium pentoxide, and 136 t/y of tantalum pentoxide over its 27-year life-of-mine. The products will be high-specification and -purity products with grades of more than 99.5% and 99% respectively.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1-billion and internal rate of return of 47.08%, with a payback of 4.4 years.

Capital Expenditure
Phase 1 capital is estimated at $29-million and includes the mine, concentrator and refinery development.

Phase 2 is estimated at $231-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Globe expects to start with the execution of its Phase 1 project by the end of 2024, starting with the front-end engineering design phase, followed by project construction scheduled for early 2025.

Latest Developments
The Malawi government has granted Australia-listed Globe Metals & Mining an additional year to start substantial mine development at its Kanyika niobium project. 

CEO Paul Smith has hailed the extension as a “clear-cut positive” for the project, which now has until September 27, 2025, to start development. The request for more time followed minor delays in finalising a mine development agreement with the government.

“The extension provides ample time to advance several critical processes essential for the project's successful delivery," Smith has said.

These include securing funding initiatives and offtake agreements, completing key technical design and engineering tasks, and fulfilling social and environmental commitments.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Globe Metals & Mining, tel +61 8 6118 7240 or email info@globemm.com.