Alkebulan Critical Metals
A Nigerian mining and mineral development company working the metals the clean-energy transition runs on — with a trading arm, Tantchru, moving them to market.
Alkebulan Critical Metals Limited was incorporated in June 2024 and is headquartered on Military Street, Onikan, Lagos, with a subsidiary in South Africa.
Its vision is to be Africa's leading developer of critical minerals for the global clean-energy transition; its mission is to explore, develop and sustainably manage African mineral resources with ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and local beneficiation.
The strategic focus is base metals, chromium, copper, cobalt, lithium, manganese and rare earth elements — with the emphasis on in-country value addition, community-centred development and traceability.
Three concessions, three stages
One in production, one in build, one advancing through feasibility — together anchoring a portfolio of roughly a billion tonnes of critical mineral ore.
Imeko Afon
A multi-commodity project in Ijebu East, held through a joint venture with Tuntise Investment Limited and Tantchru Critical Metals Africa. An industry-leading stripping ratio of 0.2 keeps the waste-to-ore burden unusually low.
- Contract area
- 351 cadastral units · 74.4 km²
- Deposit
- Columbite, feldspar, lithium and tourmaline, with tin and gold mineralisation identified
- Technical review
- TRS and progress report concluded by Tier 1 consultants, classified to JORC guidelines
- Status
- ESG and regulatory approvals received; flow-sheet optimisation and detailed engineering ongoing
- Schedule
- Site preparation from 2025, early concentrate thereafter, ramping to full production by year four
- Partners
- Tersus (equipment and engineering) · Tobun & Tobun (metallisation and energy technology)
Muya
An alluvial and primary gold asset in Nigeria's most prolific gold corridor, held at a 50% joint-venture stake with Wekafore International Limited as operating partner. Active artisanal workings on the lease have produced nuggets of 9 to 10 grammes, indicating coarse, free-milling gold at surface.
- Contract area
- 351 cadastral units · 62 km²
- Deposit
- Gold — alluvial and primary
- Titles
- One small-scale mining lease and two exploration licences forming a contiguous land package
- Technical review
- TRS and progress report concluded by Tier 1 consultants, classified to JORC guidelines
- Status
- ESG and regulatory approvals received; flow-sheet optimisation and engineering ongoing
- Processing
- Gravity separation — sluicing, jig and centrifugal concentrator — a low-capex recovery route
Mooinooi
The group's operating asset: a wholly owned chrome concentrate base trading against confirmed orders, and the business that turns the portfolio from prospect into revenue.
- Ownership
- Wholly owned — 100%
- Product
- Chrome concentrate, 40/42 grade
- Status
- In production, with an established client book
- Traded
- More than 12,000 tonnes of chrome concentrate
What comes out of the ground
The portfolio serves EV batteries, jewellery, chemicals, steel, glass, electronics, computing, capacitors, ceramics, paint and rubber.
- Gold
- Columbite
- Lithium
- Chromite
- Tantalum
- Wolframite
- Tungsten
- Tin
- Cassiterite
- Manganese
- Iron
- Feldspar
- Quartz
- Tourmaline
- Muscovite
- Rare earth elements
Why these two commodities
Lithium and gold anchor the portfolio for different reasons: one rides the energy transition, the other is what central banks buy when everything else looks uncertain.
Lithium
Supply security is now a stated priority for technology companies across Asia, Europe and North America, and alliances between technology and exploration companies continue to form around it. Batteries account for roughly 60% of end use.
- Consumption
- ~180 kt in 2023, up 27% year on year
- Mine output
- Up 23% in 2023, to ~180 kt
- Price view
- Expected range-bound at $13,000–14,000 per tonne long term
Gold
Central bank buying was the key driver of prices through 2023, and jewellery demand held steady at 2,093 tonnes on China's recovery. Recycling rose 9%, lifting total supply 3%.
- Total demand
- A record 4,899 t in 2023, including OTC and stock flows
- Excl. OTC
- 4,448 t, 5% below a very strong 2022
- Price view
- Expected range-bound at $2,000–2,100 per ounce long term
Market figures are 2023 full-year data as set out in the company's investor overview.
Partners and clients
Equipment and construction, mine planning, energy, legal counsel and refining on one side; commodity marketing and distribution on the other.
Partners
- Tersus Limited
- Motimosé Metals
- Nepal Energies
- Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie
- Tobun & Tobun
- Tuntise Investment
- Wekafore International
Clients
- Moneda
- OpenMineral
- Cordros Capital
- Matta
- Renaissance Capital
- Oando Trading
- Motimosé Metals
The core team
Executive Director
Business development. Experience across finance, marketing and technology; represents TAMC, the company's principal shareholder, on the board.
Annah O’Akuwanu
ESG Director. A decade in sustainable initiatives and green finance across financial services, energy, technology and infrastructure; advises UK government officials on trade policy, ESG and UK/EU regulation.
Michael K. P. Tobun
Director of Processing and Sales. A trader in metallurgical, chemical and foundry grade chrome concentrate, manganese, tin, zinc, lead, cobalt, copper and ferroalloys, with connections across the DRC, Nigeria and Zambia.
Legal counsel is provided by Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie across tax, corporate advisory, mining, energy and infrastructure, with company secretarial services by Alsec Nominees Limited.
Tantchru Critical Metals
Where Alkebulan mines, Tantchru trades: sourcing, offtake and the movement of critical metals into industrial demand.
The two businesses are held separately by the family office but work the same value chain — one takes the material out of the ground, the other places it with the refiners, traders and industrial buyers who need it.
They also partner directly: Tantchru Critical Metals Africa sits alongside Tuntise Investment Limited in the joint venture behind the Imeko Afon concession.
Together they give the group a position in both halves of the critical metals story: the resource, and the route to market.