Millennial Potash Corp. (TSX.V: MLP) (OTCQB: MLPNF) (FSE: X0D) is advancing the Banio Potash Project in Gabon, West Africa, a large-scale potash deposit located directly on the Atlantic coast. The company has partnered with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to develop the project, which has attracted both U.S. and Gabonese government support. The DFC has committed US$3 million in non-dilutive project development funding to complete the Definitive Feasibility Study, now underway alongside an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. These studies are expected to support Millennial's mining license application in Gabon.
The project's significance is underscored by potash's addition to the U.S. Critical Minerals List in 2025, reflecting highly concentrated global supply and the commodity's role in food security. Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizers, and the global supply is dominated by a few countries. Banio has the potential to become Africa's first potash mine while also supplying Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Asia. This diversification of supply could enhance global food security and reduce dependency on existing producers.
Banio sits within the West African Evaporite Basin, where drilling has intersected cumulative potash thicknesses commonly exceeding 100 meters. An updated Mineral Resource Estimate announced in November 2025 reported Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 2.45 billion tonnes grading approximately 15.6% KCl and Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.56 billion tonnes grading approximately 15.6% KCl — increases of 275% and 210% respectively over the maiden estimate — from drilling that covers only about 5% of the Company's 1,500 km² license area. This suggests significant potential for further resource expansion.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in 2024 outlined a solution mining operation producing 800,000 tonnes per year of granular muriate of potash, with an after-tax NPV10 of US$1.07 billion, an after-tax IRR of 32.6%, initial capital costs of US$480 million, and operating costs of US$61 per tonne. That cost structure is underpinned by solution mining, thick potash seams, simple mineralogy, and coastal logistics — shipping to Brazil, the world's largest potash importer, is estimated at approximately US$22 per tonne. These economics position Banio as a potentially low-cost producer.
The project is led by a team with a successful track record: the team behind Millennial Lithium, Potash One, Allana Potash, and Energy Metals — companies acquired for approximately $490 million, $430 million, $170 million, and $1.8 billion respectively — with management and insiders holding approximately 40% of Millennial's outstanding shares. This alignment of interests and experience could drive the project forward efficiently.
Millennial Potash was recently featured in coverage of the Disruptive Growth & Life Sciences Conference, hosted by Moody Capital Solutions Inc. To register to attend, visit: https://moodycapital.com/conference/. To view IBN's coverage of the conference, visit https://ibn.fm/MoodyCapital2026Conference.
For readers in Halifax and surrounding areas, this development highlights the global reach of Canadian mining expertise and the potential for Canadian investors to participate in a project with strategic importance. The Banio Potash Project could contribute to global food security and offer economic benefits through job creation and supply chain opportunities, though it is important to note that the 2024 Preliminary Economic Assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.
