Millennial Potash Corp. (TSX.V: MLP) (OTCQB: MLPNF) is advancing its Banio Potash Project in Gabon, West Africa, with significant government backing and a substantially expanded resource estimate. The company announced that the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has committed US$3 million in non-dilutive funding to complete a Definitive Feasibility Study, which is underway alongside an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. These studies are expected to support the company's mining license application in Gabon.
The project's strategic importance has been heightened by the recent addition of potash to the U.S. Critical Minerals List in 2025, reflecting concerns over highly concentrated global supply and the commodity's role in food security. This designation underscores the potential impact of Banio, which could become Africa's first potash mine and supply key markets including Brazil, the United States, Europe, and Asia.
The Banio project sits within the West African Evaporite Basin, where drilling has intersected cumulative potash thicknesses commonly exceeding 100 meters. In November 2025, the company reported an updated Mineral Resource Estimate with Measured and Indicated resources of 2.45 billion tonnes grading approximately 15.6% KCl and Inferred resources of 3.56 billion tonnes at similar grades. These figures represent increases of 275% and 210%, respectively, over the maiden estimate, and they come from drilling that covers only about 5% of the company's 1,500 km² license area.
The project's economics are compelling. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) 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 and an after-tax IRR of 32.6%. Initial capital costs are estimated at US$480 million, with operating costs of US$61 per tonne. The cost structure benefits from solution mining, thick potash seams, simple mineralogy, and coastal logistics, with shipping to Brazil—the world's largest potash importer—estimated at approximately US$22 per tonne.
Millennial Potash is led by a team with a track record of successful exits, including Millennial Lithium (acquired for ~$490 million), Potash One (~$430 million), Allana Potash (~$170 million), and Energy Metals (~$1.8 billion). Management and insiders hold approximately 40% of the company's outstanding shares, aligning their interests with shareholders.
The project has attracted support from both U.S. and Gabonese governments, with the DFC's funding being a notable endorsement. The company's focus on completing the Definitive Feasibility Study and advancing toward a mining license positions it to capitalize on the growing demand for potash, particularly as global supply chains seek diversification.
For those interested in learning more about Millennial Potash's participation in the Moody Capital Solutions 2026 Disruptive Growth and Life Sciences Conference, where the company was featured, registration is available at https://moodycapital.com/conference/. Coverage of the conference can be viewed at https://ibn.fm/MoodyCapital2026Conference.
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have 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.
