Lifezone secures $60M bridge loan for nickel project

Lifezone Metals (NYSE: LZM) said Monday it has secured a $60 million bridge loan from Taurus Mining Finance Fund to fund early works and infrastructure development at its flagship Kabanga nickel project in northwest Tanzania.

Kabanga is considered to be one of the world’s largest and highest-grade undeveloped nickel sulphide projects, containing over 2 million tonnes of the battery metal in resources. The deposit also contains significant copper and cobalt as by-products.

The loan, says chief executive officer Chris Showalter, further demonstrates the preparation and strategic steps Lifezone took before gaining full ownership of Kabanga Nickel Limited (KNL) last month. It provides essential funding to maintain project momentum during the execution readiness phase and bridges the period between feasibility study completion and the final investment decision, which is expected in mid-2026, according to the company.

“With the feasibility study now complete, Taurus’s funding enables us to advance critical early-stage development while progressing the competitive process underway with Standard Chartered to select additional strategic investment partners,” Showalter said. “In parallel, we are advancing the project financing process with Societe Generale, as we work toward a comprehensive funding solution for the Kabanga nickel project.”

Lifezone shares rose 5.8% to $4.57 Monday following the loan announcement. That boosted the company’s market capitalization to about $358 million.

Majority stake

KNL controls the Kabanga project with an 84% stake. The remaining 16% is held by the Tanzanian government.

In mid-July, Lifezone consolidated its interest in KNL after acquiring the 17% equity stake previously held by global miner BHP (ASX: BHP) for $83 million. BHP, which initially committed to invest $100 million in building the mine, has since shifted its focus away from nickel due to market conditions. The deal gives Lifezone full control of the Kabanga nickel operations, including 100% of its offtake rights.

In addition to purchasing BHP’s project stake, Lifezone also released a feasibility study for the project that upgraded the reserve estimate to 52.2 million tonnes grading 1.98% nickel, 0.27% copper and 0.15% cobalt. 

Mining of the ores would occur for 18 years, during which the concentrator is expected to produce a total of 902,000 tonnes of nickel, 134,000 tonnes of copper and 69,000 tonnes of cobalt in intermediate product, the study shows. Its after-tax net present value – at an 8% discount rate – is estimated at $1.58 billion, with an internal rate of return of 23.3%.

According to the new feasibility study, the pre-production cost for the mine is pegged at $942 million. The life-of-mine cost is estimated at $2.49 billion.