CHINESE companies that transformed Indonesia into the world’s dominant nickel producer are scouting African alternatives as rising policy pressure in Jakarta unsettles the investment model that reshaped global supply, reports Reuters.
Tsingshan Group, the world’s largest stainless steel producer, has submitted a multi-billion dollar proposal to Madagascar’s government to develop an industrial park covering nickel and a range of other minerals, the newswire said.
The concept is modelled on Tsingshan’s Morowali and Weda Bay operations in Indonesia, according to Madagascar’s mines minister Karl Andriamparany, though the proposal remains under review and no permits have been granted. Tsingshan signed a cooperation memorandum with Madagascar in February.
Separately, Hong Kong-listed Lygend Resources — which helped pioneer high-pressure acid leach processing for battery-grade nickel in Indonesia — is in talks to acquire a stake in the undeveloped Kabanga nickel project in Tanzania from US-listed Lifezone Metals, said Reuters citing sources familiar with the matter.
Kabanga is one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel sulphide deposits. Lifezone estimates initial development would cost nearly $1bn and take six years to reach planned annual output of around 50,000 tons.
Lifezone on Monday referred media inquiries to its comments in April in which it said negotiations had progressed for a potential strategic investment Kabanga led by Standard Chartered Bank, “with multiple offers received”.
Both Kabanga and Madagascar would represent each company’s first nickel investment outside Indonesia, said Reuters.
The moves come as President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has tightened ore mining quotas, proposed tax increases and revised benchmark mineral prices upward — prompting the China Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia to warn the measures could deter future investment. Foreign direct investment into Indonesia fell 6% in 2025.
African greenfield developments carry their own risks. Madagascar has been under military rule since a coup last year, while Kabanga has remained undeveloped for decades despite its scale.
