Lifezone Metals has signed a 14-month exclusivity agreement with the government of Burundi, with the possibility of extension, to explore the development of the Musongati nickel laterite deposit.
WASHINGTON
The Musongati deposit, which has an estimated average grade of 1.31 percent nickel and resources exceeding 150 million metric tons, also contains copper (0.21 percent) and cobalt (0.09 percent).
The site is located approximately 200 kilometres south-west of Kabanga in Ngara, within the East African Nickel Belt, where the US-based owns Tembo Nickel in partnership with the government of Tanzania.
The development highlights the strategic foresight of Tanzania in investing in the Standard Gauge Railway, promoting mineral beneficiation, and positioning the country as a regional industrial and refining hub—key priorities under Vision 2050, which targets building a $1 trillion economy.
The Government’s decision to extend the Standard Gauge Railway westward is increasingly proving to be one of its most strategically significant infrastructure commitments.
Financing of $696.41 million from the African Development Bank supports Phase II of the joint Tanzania-Burundi-DR Congo Standard Gauge Railway project, an initiative designed in part to unlock the vast nickel potential of the Musongati deposit.
Construction of the Tanzania–Burundi SGR was officially launched on August 16, 2025, under a $2.154 billion contract.
The railway will also support the Kabanga nickel project operated by Tembo Nickel, including the transportation of final products from Kabanga and Kahama to the Port of Dar es Salaam.
This integrated logistics network reflects the ambitions of Vision 2050, which prioritises infrastructure capable of serving multiple countries and sectors while leveraging Tanzania’s strategic geographic location as a gateway to eastern and southern Africa.
Vision 2050 places strong emphasis on mineral beneficiation, value addition, and export-led industrialisation.
“Vision 2050 sets Tanzania on a path to a one-trillion-dollar economy. Tembo Nickel contributes to that ambition in four concrete ways: sustainable mining that benefits host communities and the country at large while supporting the global energy transition; refining that keeps value in Tanzania through genuine beneficiation; attracting logistics infrastructure that opens Tanzania to commerce and activates the Central Corridor; and an equity structure that ensures government—and therefore every Tanzanian citizen—shares in the returns,” said Benedict Busunzu, CEO, Tembo Nickel.
The planned Kahama Multi-Metal Processing Facility, located in Shinyanga’s Buzwagi Special Economic Zone, will use Lifezone Metals’ Hydromet Technology to process minerals and produce battery-grade nickel, with copper and cobalt as by-products.
Tembo Nickel holds a Multi-Metal Processing Facility Licence for the project.
If Lifezone Metals ultimately consolidates the Kabanga and Musongati deposits under its operational umbrella, the Kahama refinery could evolve into a regional processing centre for the East African Nickel Belt.
Critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt and copper are increasingly viewed as essential to Tanzania’s industrialisation strategy, job creation agenda and the broader implementation of Vision 2050.
Development of the Musongati deposit would add cross-border freight volumes, strengthening the economic case for Tanzania’s westward railway investment.
Through its 16 percent non-dilutable free-carried stake in Tembo Nickel, the Tanzanian Government holds direct equity in the Kahama processing facility. The refinery will produce battery-grade nickel, cobalt and copper, positioning Tanzania as a regional centre for mineral refining.
The Kabanga project alone is expected to create 1,090 direct jobs, with 91 percent reserved for Tanzanian nationals, alongside thousands of indirect employment opportunities across the mining and logistics value chains.
Once completed, the Kahama processing facility will produce finished nickel products within Tanzania using Lifezone’s Hydromet Technology. Development of the Musongati deposit could further expand this in-country value-addition model.
The SGR and nickel developments reinforce the strategic role of the Port of Dar es Salaam as East Africa’s leading export gateway and a growing supplier of critical minerals to global markets.
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