Tanzania · nickel sulphide · pre-FID · as of 12 June 2026. Research only — this page structures the verified record into the loop an analyst runs; it gives no recommendation. Companion to the Kabanga decision view and insurance view.
1 · Signal
8–9 June 2026 — State House briefing. Lifezone's Executive Chairman and Tanzania's Treasury Registrar briefed President Samia Suluhu Hassan; the Directorate of Presidential Communications confirmed an agreed project structure between GoT and Lifezone, with the refinery/beneficiation component finalisation as the next step.Sourced — State House communication, 9 June 2026 (via TanzaniaInvest); retrieved 2026-06-12.
FID guidance: mid-2026 targeted FID + financial close of a multi-source funding package; umbrella guidance "FID in 2026." One secondary source characterises FID as "late 2026" — company word governs and is carried here.Sourced — Lifezone release, 11 Dec 2025 (primary); secondary characterisation noted, not carried.
2 · Verification state
Reserves: 52.2 Mt @ 1.98% Ni, 0.27% Cu, 0.15% Co (100% project basis) — the project's first-ever declared reserves.Sourced — July 2025 Feasibility Study; deployed record, last reviewed 2026-06-12.
Economics: ~$1.6bn post-tax NPV at 8% discount, 23.3% after-tax IRR, 18-year mine life, on conservative metal-price assumptions.Sourced — Lifezone FS release, 18 July 2025. Note: the 8% FS convention differs from Afrimintel's country-risk-adjusted §10 framework by design; see methodology.
Ownership: Lifezone 84% / Government of Tanzania 16% free-carried. BHP's prior stake acquired by Lifezone via deferred consideration — $10M due 12 months post-FID + $28M indexed to LZM share price after commercial production — read by the record as BHP's wholesale nickel retreat, not project-specific concern.Sourced — deployed record (ownership); Lifezone/secondary coverage of the BHP exit terms (Dec 2025).
E&S state: US DFC environmental and social due diligence and public consultation completed; ESIA/ESMP completed June 2025 with final ESMP approval pending at NEMC; resettlement aligned to IFC Performance Standards, compensation at 97% of affected households.Sourced — Lifezone release, 11 Dec 2025.
3 · Position questions (by desk)
Property & engineering / PRI: guidance puts EPCM and major bulk earthworks — North boxcut and underground development — immediately post-FID; construction-phase exposure begins on the FID date, not after a lag. The State House structure agreement is the strongest government-alignment datum on the record.Basis — Lifezone Dec 2025 release; State House, 9 June 2026.
DFI / lender: DFC letter of interest (project loans + political-risk cover) and completed DFC E&S diligence sit alongside the pending NEMC approval — the open regulatory item is domestic, not international.Basis — deployed record; Lifezone Dec 2025 release.
Offtake / strategic: company reports advanced discussions with strategic and financial investors and off-takers, including potential project-level investment or divestiture — the structure is explicitly still in play until financial close.Basis — Lifezone Dec 2025 release.
4 · Watch items
NEMC final ESMP approval (the stated open domestic item).
Refinery/beneficiation component finalisation (the State House-named next step).
FID announcement + financial close (mid-2026 company guidance) — on announcement, the insurance view and this loop re-render same-day per the watchlist routine.
Every watch item is on the daily sweep. Changes land on the audit log before any surface claims them.