The Tanzanian government signed an agreement with U.S.-linked company Tremont Investment Group to develop the $300 million Panda Hill project, The Chanzo reported on March 25. The project, in which the Tanzanian government will hold at 16% carried interest, involves the construction of a niobium mine, a processing plant and a facility producing ferroniobium, and aims to produce around 100,000 tons of niobium content — around 4% of the current global supply — once fully operational.

Niobium is a highly sought-after metal crucial to the manufacture of certain alloys used in electric vehicles and aircraft engines. Brazil currently generates around 90% of the global supply.