The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is moving sideways today despite news about the company's latest investment.
At the time of writing, shares in the world's second-largest miner are swapping hands for $44.93, up 0.35%. It's worth noting that in the past month, the company's shares have climbed 12% following a rebound in iron ore prices.
Let's take a look at the company's latest announcement.
BHP capitalises on African nickel mine
In a joint release, BHP has entered into an agreement to invest up to US$100 million in the Kabanga Nickel project in Tanzania.
Yet, it seems the company's move to invest in the nickel and cobalt project has had minimal impact on the BHP share price.
Located in western Tanzania, the Kabanga Nickel project is considered as the largest development-ready nickel sulphide deposit in the world. The site is estimated to contain nickel equivalent resources of 1.86 million tonnes with a grade of 3.44%.
First production is anticipated to begin sometime in 2025. Kabanga is targeting minimum annual production of 40,000 tonnes of nickel, 6,000 tonnes of copper, and 3,000 tonnes of cobalt.
The deal between BHP and UK registered private company Kabanga Nickel Limited will see the accelerated development of the Kabanga Nickel Project. An initial investment of US$40 million has so far been made by the Australian-based mining giant.
In addition, BHP will also pour US$10 million into Lifezone Limited to advance the roll-out of its patented hydrometallurgical technologies. This mining tech company is seeking a more cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly way to produce battery-grade metals than smelting.
With the first US$50 million allocated to getting the project online, BHP's investment in Kabanga will stand at 8.9%.
A second tranche of US$50 million in unsecured convertible securities is subject to Kabanga Nickel achieving certain milestones. If this goes ahead, then BHP's stake will jump to 17.8% in the UK-based company, valuing the project at US$658 million.
Clearly, BHP is thinking ahead by increasing its exposure to the shifting trend from fossil fuels to cleaner energy. Nickel is a key element needed to make lithium-ion batteries which are used to power of electric vehicles.
BHP share price summary
Since the beginning of the year, the BHP share price has accelerated to post a gain of around 8% for its shareholders. However, when looking at the past 12 months, the company's shares have lost around 3% in value.
This is a stark contrast from when its shares were tracking almost 30% higher in August, reaching an all-time high of $54.55.
Based on today's price, BHP presides a market capitalisation of roughly $132 billion and has approximately 2.95 billion shares outstanding.
