Raw lithium exports ban drives beneficiation agenda

THE ban on unprocessed lithium exports by Government to curb illegal mining and smuggling has seen millions of United States dollars being invested in processing facilities, giving impetus to the country’s value addition and beneficiation agenda.

In December last year, Zimbabwe banned the export of raw lithium to encourage investment in local processing facilities, as Government argued that smuggling of the world’s sought-after mineral to South Africa and the United Arab Emirates was costing the country US$1,8 billion in lost mining earnings.

Following the bold step the country took, there were fears that the move would scuttle investment in mining and risk stalling the clean energy transition.

With the largest lithium reserves in Africa, Zimbabwe so far has five lithium mining companies — including Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) in Goromonzi, near Harare; and Bikita Lithium Mine in Masvingo province, which are already extracting and processing the base metal.

The Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Matabeleland South province has seen construction of a milling plant in Insiza district being completed.

Premier African Minerals, a United Kingdom-headquartered mining group that owns the project, has announced that planned production of up to 1 000 tonnes per month of spodumene is set to begin in November this year.

The Zulu processing plant has the capacity to produce nearly 50 000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum.

Spodumene is a lithium ore with a high concentration of lithium.

Lithium is a mineral used in the manufacturing of high-energy storage capacity batteries and its demand has risen sharply due to the global demand in electric vehicles, particularly in developed countries that are forging ahead with plans to phase out fossil fuels like petrol and diesel in a few decades.

Last month, President Mnangagwa commissioned a flotation plant at the Sabi Star Lithium Mine in Buhera, Manicaland province, a development that has set the tone for the operation that is owned by MaxMinds Investments, one of the Chinese investors in the country.

The US$130 million lithium mine is among the new base metal operations whose lithium salt plant has an initial annual processing capacity of 30 000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide.

The processing plant at Sabi is in various stages, from size reduction to floatation, with a capital investment of US$45 million.

Work is also being undertaken by Sandawana Mines, which is owned by Zimbabwe’s largest mining group, Kuvimba Mining House (KMH), to instal a US$215 million beneficiation plant.

In an interview after a stakeholders’ engagement meeting in Zvishavane last Wednesday, KMH chief executive officer Mr Simba Chinyemba said Sandawana Mines resumed operations in January this year and has stockpiled over 820 000 tonnes of lithium ore ahead of the installation of a beneficiation facility with capacity to process 4,5 million tonnes annually.

Feasibility studies for the beneficiation plant are underway ahead of the facility’s installation, which is expected to take between 12 months and 18 months.

The facility will comprise Dense Media Separation (DMS) and floatation plants.

“Our current stockpile is more than 820 000 tonnes of lithium, with an average grade just under 2 percent. This is high-grade lithium that we have mined so far.

“Our capacity to mine is greater than 100 000 tonnes every month, which is why we have got the amount of stockpile which we have today,” said Mr Chinyemba.

In 2019, KMH took over Sandawana, which has been defunct since 2010 due to working capital constraints and a reduction in the emerald resources.

Sandawana Mines general manager Mr Godwin Gambiza is on record saying his company is committed to raw materials beneficiation and value addition.

“We are working together with other partners that have also shown interest in cooperating with us to set up a beneficiation and value addition plant here in Sandawana in the next 12 to 18 months,” he said.

In July this year, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt commissioned its lithium concentrator at one of its subsidiaries, PLZ, which was acquired for US$422 million last year.

The lithium concentrator, valued at US$300 million, has an annual capacity of 450 000 tonnes.

In July, Bikita Lithium Mine commissioned its new US$500 million plant, and export of the mine’s first-ever shipment of spodumene concentrate has started.

Global metals giant Sinomine bought Bikita last year in a US$180 million deal with African Metals Management Services and German investor Wilfried Pabst’s Southern African Metals and Minerals, the Mauritius-registered companies that held a combined 74 percent of the mine.

Currently, the mining industry is Zimbabwe’s major economic mainstay, accounting for 73 percent of foreign direct investment, 83 percent of exports, 19 percent of Government revenues, 2 percent of formal employment and 11 percent of individual incomes. By 2030, the sector is projected to generate more than US$20 billion.