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 has the potential to become the first new globally significant niobium mine in 50 years.

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
Not stated.

Latest Developments
None stated.

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.