Interview with Ingo Hofmaier, CFO of Lifezone Metals

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/lifezone-metals-nyselzm-tanzania-nickel-developer-boosts-resource-by-20-amid-ev-metals-push-6482

Recording date: 24th November 2025

Lifezone Metals (NYSE:LZM) is positioning its Kabanga nickel project in Tanzania as a strategic Western-aligned alternative to Indonesian supply dominance, following the successful acquisition of BHP's 17% stake through a deferred payment structure. CFO Ingo Hofmaier detailed the company's progress toward a final investment decision (FID) targeted for late 2025, highlighting how decades of exploration work and recent infrastructure improvements have transformed the project's development prospects.

The July 2025 feasibility study marked a watershed moment, providing the first public financial analysis of the deposit in its 50-year history. The numbers demonstrate compelling economics: a $1.6 billion after-tax NPV, 23.3% IRR, and 4.5-year payback period, with all-in sustaining costs of $3.36 per pound net of byproduct credits. The deposit contains approximately 50 million tons of reserves at 1.9-2% nickel grades, with valuable copper and cobalt byproducts that position Kabanga in the lower quartile of the global cost curve.

Infrastructure improvements have fundamentally de-risked the project. Tanzania's new standard-gauge railway from Dar es Salaam to Lake Victoria addresses historical logistics concerns, while three new hydropower stations provide grid connection with 95-98% availability. These developments eliminate the power and transportation constraints that previously hindered development efforts.

Lifezone secured a $60 million bridge facility with Taurus Mining in August 2025, funding execution readiness activities while the company advances project financing discussions. The high-grade nature of the deposit supports a targeted 60/40 debt-to-equity financing structure for the $950 million to $1.2 billion capital requirement. Advanced discussions with the U.S. Development Finance Corporation, European export credit agencies, and Mineral Security Partnership members reflect Western government recognition of Kabanga's strategic importance amid 70-80% Indonesian supply concentration and associated geopolitical concerns.

The company's proprietary hydrometallurgical processing technology offers environmental advantages over conventional smelting, eliminating sulfur dioxide emissions while leveraging the ore's 30% sulfur content to avoid purchasing sulfuric acid—a significant cost advantage over Indonesian laterite operations.

View Lifezone Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/lifezone-metals

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