Burundi Government Takes 15-percent Stake in Nickel-Iron Project

Bloomberg reported that the government of Burundi has taken a 15-percent interest in a project aimed at building a nickel and iron mine. Burundi Mining Metallurgy Ltd., which is majority owned by Kermas Group Ltd., is leading the project.

As quoted in the market news:

The project will require investment of ‘a few hundred million dollars’ to construct the mine and a facility to process 1 million metric tons of ore annually into iron, nickel and cobalt within the next five years, said Konchar. The goal to increase capacity at the plant to handle 5 million tons annually within a decade will cost about $3 billion, [Danko Konchar, chief executive officer of Kermas Group] said.

Burundi holds 6 percent of the world’s nickel reserves, with Musongati ranked as one of the 10 largest known deposits of the metal that have yet to be developed, according to the Tunis-based African Development Bank. The East African nation produces small amounts of tantalum, gold, limestone, niobium, tin and tungsten and also has deposits of copper, the U.S. Geological Survey says on its website.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.