Aim-listed Zanaga Iron Ore Company (ZIOC) has completed a value enhancement initiative at its Zanaga iron-ore project, in Congo-Brazzaville, stating that the various workstreams have delivered significant value enhancement and strategic benefits across multiple areas of the project.

Throughout 2025, alongside other project development activities, the company completed a number of workstreams to improve the construction, operations, strategic optionality and overall economics of the Zanaga project.

Detailed design and costing assessments were completed with industry experts across four workstreams.

This includes direct reduced iron (DRI) testwork; a pellet plant feasibility study; a feasibility study on a single 30-million-tonne-a-year pipeline; and a study on establishing a thickened and dry tailings facility.

The company says the completion of these workstreams has not only improved the economic potential of the Zanaga project but has also established a robust engineering and design foundation as the company progresses the project.

ZIOC highlights that positive results from the completion of four workstreams includes revenue improvement, with $11.33-billion of potential revenue upside identified over the initial 30-year life of the asset (LoA) owing to product grade improvement.

The company also reports a total combined capital expenditure (capex) savings potential of $352-million.

This comprises the option to build a single 30-million-tonne-a-year pipeline that would increase upfront Stage One capex by $349-million, but would eliminate $706-million of Stage Two pipeline capex.

It also comprises a minor increase of $5-million in capex associated with thickened and dry tailings technologies.

Additionally, Zanaga notes that another positive result includes total combined cash cost savings of $2.24-billion over the initial 30-year LoA.

Moreover, the company notes that a combined, updated assessment of project economics will be released in February.

Zanaga says the four workstreams have delivered numerous positive outcomes with the DRI-grade product test results delivering the most significant economic benefit.

The company explains that the other initiatives are not currently expected to deliver material incremental economic upside. They do, however, provide strategic benefits and further opportunities to de-risk the project.

Next milestones expected in the first quarter of 2026, as previously announced on December 30, include a project development strategy update planned for February.

This includes process plant front end engineering and design (FEED) results, including updated capital and operating cost estimates based on a DRI flowsheet developed through 2025.

It also includes a fully integrated project development plan, including the economics of all project enhancements assessed to date, as well as an update on logistics and infrastructure solutions required to support development of the Zanaga project.

Additionally, ZIOC says it is pleased with the progress being made in engaging a number of strategic investors interested in developing the Zanaga project.

The company says it intends to secure initial offers from investors during the first quarter of this year and is targeting the announcement of transaction terms with a selected strategic investor during the quarter.

"The outcomes of these value enhancement workstreams are significant for the Zanaga project, as each has delivered meaningful improvements to the risk and engineering basis, environmental performance and project economics.

"Importantly, we are now in a strong position to advance through the FEED phase with the confidence that our development pathway is optimised for both value creation and sustainability, benefitting the company and its stakeholders.

"Zanaga is uniquely positioned to supply premium DRI-grade pellet feed into a rapidly decarbonising steel sector, and these enhancements reinforce the project's status as a world-class iron-ore asset,” says ZIOC CEO Martin Knauth.