Lifezone Metals (NYSE: LZM) has selected US government-backed consortium Orion CMC as its preferred partner to help develop Tanzania’s Kabanga nickel project, potentially marking one of the consortium’s first major critical minerals investments. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News said Orion CMC emerged as the preferred bidder after a competitive process run by Standard Chartered Plc. Neither Lifezone nor Orion CMC has formally announced a transaction, and the size of the proposed investment has not been disclosed. While he did not identify the investor, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News it is Orion CMC. Orion Resource Partners declined to comment, while the DFC did not respond to Bloomberg News’ requests for comment.