Tanzania’s niobium bet: Can Panda Hill break Brazil’s dominance in critical minerals?

• $270mn deal targets global niobium market entry
• Africa’s first ferroniobium plant planned in Mbeya

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA — Tanzania has signed a $270 million agreement with U.S.-based Denham Capital to develop the Panda Hill Niobium Project, signalling a strategic push into global critical minerals markets.

The TZS 700 billion investment positions Tanzania to become the world’s fourth-largest niobium producer, with plans to extract 100,000 tonnes through a new ferroniobium plant — the first of its kind in Africa and only the fourth built globally in four decades.