Globe Metals and Mining says first production from the Kanyika Niobium Project in Mzimba is expected in January 2028, with community relocation scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026. In its year-end update, the company said the timeline is anchored on completion of its Bankable Feasibility Study, expected by March this year. The first phase of relocation is planned for May.
The company said first production will meet Mining Licence and Mine Development Agreement requirements for an exportable product within five years of execution. Phase Two, planned for April 2029, is expected to scale production to between 3 000 and 3 300 tonnes of niobium pentoxide and 150 to 160 tonnes of tantalum pentoxide annually. Globe Metals said the phased approach reduces capital risk, accelerates cash flow and allows market absorption of early volumes.
The first phase will deliver about one-third of full processing capacity and will use a solar–diesel hybrid power system. Globe Metals interim chief executive officer and chief financial officer Charles Altshuler said Kanyika would become the first major non-Brazilian niobium producer in more than 50 years. He said global supply remains constrained, with more than 90 percent sourced from a single Brazilian producer, while demand continues to rise in aerospace, defence, batteries and advanced manufacturing.
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The company recently secured a non-binding off-take agreement with Canada-based Neo Performance Materials Inc for all Phase One niobium production. The agreement allows Neo to purchase 150 metric tonnes (MT) per year of refined high-purity niobium and is expected to support the feasibility study. Geologist and mining consultant Ignatius Kamwanje said the agreement would help attract funding and described Kanyika as a globally significant project.
He said growing demand for niobium in defence and battery technologies had elevated the mineral’s strategic importance. The project will be developed as a conventional open-pit mine, with ore mined and processed on site. At full capacity, Kanyika is expected to produce an average of about 3 267MT of niobium pentoxide annually.
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