Highlights:

• EXIM Bank issues letter of intent for $150M to support Botswana's NexMetals
• US eyes battery-grade nickel sulphates and cobalt from Tanzania’s Kabanga project
• Competition with China intensifies over control of African critical metals

The United States is taking new steps to consolidate its position in Africa’s critical minerals landscape, with a focus on securing nickel, copper, cobalt, and lithium supplies. This strategy comes as Washington increasingly competes with China, the continent’s most entrenched player in the sector.

On Thursday, July 17, NexMetals Mining, which owns the former Selebi and Selkirk nickel mines in Botswana, announced that it had received a non-binding letter of intent from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for $150 million in potential financing. The move confirms growing American interest in African nickel, following a similar offer in 2024 for Tanzania’s Kabanga project.

From Kabanga to Selebi: Targeting Strategic Supply

In December 2024, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed an agreement with Kabanga Nickel, a subsidiary of Lifezone Metals, for due diligence on political risk insurance related to the Kabanga nickel mine and its associated refinery in Tanzania. The deal also included a non-binding intent to consider a potential DFC loan.

A preliminary study published in June 2025 outlined a 22-year mine life at Kabanga, based on indicated and inferred resources. The project aims to deliver 50,000 tonnes of battery-grade nickel sulphates annually, along with 7,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and 4,000 tonnes of cobalt sulphates. During a 2023 visit to Tanzania, then–U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris stated that nickel produced at Kabanga was intended for the U.S. market.

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, @DFCgov, provides letter of interest for loan application for Kabanga Nickel Project. Full details here: https://t.co/9SfF637Y8M#LifezoneMetals #LZM #HydrometTechnology #Hydromet #CleanEnergy #BatteryMetals #Nickel #Copper… pic.twitter.com/Y6y8Mqjle3

— LifezoneMetals (@LifezoneMetals) September 23, 2024

In Botswana, Washington is backing NexMetals’ revival of the Selebi and Selkirk mines, which together hold an estimated 368,000 tonnes of nickel resources, in addition to cobalt, copper, and platinum group metals (PGMs). “Given the quality and size of our resources and the current pace of our business, we expect our rapid growth trajectory to align with our shared goal of providing new, sustainable sources of critical metals to the United States and its allies,” said Morgan Lekstrom, CEO of NexMetals.

Strategic Race with China, Uncertain Commitments

Nickel is a key vulnerability for the U.S., which imports 48% of its supply. Although 68% of this comes from allied countries according to the Paris-based School of Economic Warfare., S&P Global estimates that by 2035, up to 90% of global nickel supply will lie outside U.S. free trade agreements. Meanwhile, domestic demand could increase by 14% under the Inflation Reduction Act (2022).

Benchmark forecasts China to dominate lithium production in Africa this decade. ⛏️

Chinese companies are looking to Africa as a source of feedstock for the country’s giant #lithium industry as alternative regions express greater resistance.

Read more ⬇️https://t.co/6mbcKpdTFM

— Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (@benchmarkmin) April 17, 2023

Other metals present even greater risks: copper production is highly concentrated in Chile, the DRC, and Peru, while 70% of cobalt originates from Congolese mines. China dominates investment in these sectors. According to Congolese sources, Beijing has interests in 80% of mines in the DRC. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence projects that over 90% of Africa’s lithium over the next decade will come from firms wholly or partially controlled by China.

Despite the public announcements, the EXIM Bank and DFC support for Botswana and Tanzania remains at the expression-of-interest stage. "We await a final commitment for a potential transaction," NexMetals' CEO confirmed. Parallel discussions are ongoing in the DRC under a proposed “minerals-for-security” initiative introduced by a Congolese senator.

The United States is currently reviewing these proposals as it weighs growing geopolitical competition not only from China, but also from Gulf states (UAE, Saudi Arabia) and Asian nations (South Korea, India) increasingly active in African resource extraction.

This article was initially published in French by Emiliano Tossou

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho