Tanzania is advancing a battery-minerals strategy centered on graphite and nickel projects that could reshape the country's mining mix beyond gold. Developers and government agencies are working through financing, permitting and infrastructure requirements as demand for anode and cathode raw materials remains a long-term draw for investors.
The country already has a large gold sector led by Barrick's North Mara and Bulyanhulu mines and AngloGold Ashanti's Geita operation. The next phase of growth, however, is expected to come from critical minerals used in electric vehicles and energy storage, particularly flake graphite and nickel sulphides.
Graphite projects move through development stages
Tanzania hosts several of Africa's best-known graphite deposits. The Mahenge project, associated with Black Rock Mining, and the Epanko project, developed by EcoGraf, have both attracted attention for resource scale and planned concentrate quality. The Bunyu graphite project has also remained part of the discussion around future East African supply.
Graphite demand forecasts have been supported by lithium-ion battery anode consumption, though financing conditions for junior miners have been uneven. Developers are therefore pairing mine plans with proposals for downstream processing, including purified spherical graphite, to capture more value and align with host-country expectations.
Kabanga remains central to nickel ambitions
The Kabanga nickel project in northwestern Tanzania is one of the continent's most significant undeveloped battery-metal assets. Backed by Kabanga Nickel and linked to a hydromet processing plan, the project is intended to produce battery-grade metals rather than simply export concentrate. That approach fits the government's preference for domestic beneficiation where commercially viable.
Kabanga's scale has kept it on investor watchlists because high-grade nickel sulphide deposits are relatively scarce compared with laterite resources. The project's timeline still depends on engineering, financing and infrastructure rollout, but its strategic relevance has not changed.
Policy seeks more in-country value
Tanzania has spent the past several years recalibrating mining policy after earlier disputes over contracts, taxes and export controls. The current framework is more pragmatic than the one that unsettled investors during the late 2010s, but the state still wants more local participation, processing and fiscal return from mineral extraction.
Officials have said battery minerals offer a chance to diversify export earnings and industrial capacity. That ambition will require roads, reliable electricity, port capacity and clear permitting timelines, especially for projects located far from major logistics corridors.
- Battery minerals in focus: Graphite and nickel
- Notable projects: Mahenge, Epanko, Bunyu, Kabanga
- Policy priority: Local processing and higher domestic value capture
- Main challenge: Financing and infrastructure execution
East Africa is not yet a major battery-material supplier on the scale of Congo for cobalt or Zambia for copper. Tanzania's project pipeline nevertheless gives it a credible opening in graphite and nickel if developers can bring assets into production on schedule and under stable fiscal terms.
