Our metals

Niobium is our main product. Added in very small quantities to steel, it makes it stronger and lighter. It is used in bridges, pipelines, buildings and vehicles, and in superalloys for aircraft engines and in superconducting magnets for medical imaging.

The project will produce ferroniobium for the steel industry and high-purity niobium oxide for advanced applications. At full capacity, the project is expected to produce around 16,000 tonnes of niobium per year, making it one of the world's significant sources of this metal.

Tantalum is used in capacitors for electronics (phones, computers, cars), in medical implants and in high-performance alloys. It will be recovered separately from niobium, with an expected output of close to 400 tonnes of tantalum per year.

Titanium will be recovered as a titanium compound used mainly by the aluminium industry to improve the quality of alloys, at around 10,000 tonnes per year.

Uranium occurs naturally in the ore. It will be recovered as a by-product, in line with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and can supply fuel for low-carbon nuclear power. Expected output is around 500 tonnes of uranium oxide (U₃O₈) per year.

A high grade phosphate concentrate will be produced at Mabounié for the fertiliser industry, at around 800,000 tonnes per year, with the potential to support agriculture in Gabon and the region.

The process will also produce industrial co-products such as fluorspar (calcium fluoride), and recycles its main reagents.