JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The key to unlocking value of Kabanga Nickel and enabling the full beneficiation of new era metals in Tanzania is an environment-friendly hydrometallurgy process that eliminates smelting and thus slashes the need for electricity.
The Kabanga Nickel Hydromet process – which takes ore to refined metals at lower capital and operating costs cutting carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by 80% and eliminating sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission altogether – is seen as a game changer for Tanzania, by providing the maximum in-country value-add to the East African nation.
Once developed, Kabanga will produce class 1 nickel and cobalt products – two of the key elements used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries – and London Metal Exchange grade A copper cathode.
The World Economic Forum has estimated that demand for high-purity nickel for EV battery production “will increase by a factor of 24 in 2030 compared to 2018 levels”.
Mining Weekly can report that the team behind this revolutionary new way of doing things is Lifezone, which is currently also implementing the innovative Kell process at Sedibelo’s Pilanesburg Platinum Mines in South Africa.
For the rest of this article: https://www.miningweekly.com/article/innovative-hydrometallurgy-unlocks-metals-bonanza-for-tanzania-2021-01-26/rep_id:3650