Zimbabwe, a nation with one of the greatest lithium reserves in the world, has seen the official opening of a $300 million lithium processing facility built by a Chinese mining company. Due to lithium’s critical role in electric car batteries, which has been driving up demand internationally, Zimbabwe has become a popular destination for investors in battery materials from many countries.
Global Demand and Zimbabwe’s Huge Lithium Reserves
With the greatest lithium reserves in Africa, Zimbabwe has drawn in foreign businesses looking to exploit this precious mineral. China has emerged as the major investor in Zimbabwe’s lithium industry, despite the country having attracted interest in recent years from businesses based in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Zimbabwe’s importance in the worldwide lithium value chain has grown as a result of the rising global demand for lithium, which is being fueled by the expansion of the electric car market.
Zimbabwe’s New Processing Facility by Prospect Lithium
A subsidiary of the Chinese corporation Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, opened the lithium processing facility, which has the ability to convert 4.5 million metric tonnes of hard rock lithium per year into concentrate for export. In Zimbabwe’s efforts to leverage its lithium resources for economic development, the expansive facility, located in Goromonzi, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of the country’s capital, Harare, represents a crucial turning point.
The President’s Plan for the Lithium Industry in Zimbabwe
The inaugural debut of the lithium processing facility was attended by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The importance of lithium as a mineral for the present and the future was emphasised by President Mnangagwa in his speech. He emphasised the opportunity for value addition in Zimbabwe’s lithium industry, establishing Zimbabwe as a competitive player in the world’s lithium value chain. The president exhorted Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe to expand its capabilities and open the door for local production of lithium batteries and other components in Zimbabwe and other southern African nations.
Lithium export restrictions and local value addition
Zimbabwe put a prohibition on the export of unprocessed lithium ore last year in an effort to take advantage of the demand for lithium and maximise its economic advantages. This action brings Zimbabwe into line with other countries like Chile and Indonesia, which demand that miners spend money on domestic processing and refining before exporting key minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe’s new factory would initially have a processing capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes of concentrate annually. Further processing will be applied to the concentrate outside of Zimbabwe in order to create battery-grade lithium. With processing as its primary focus, the company hopes to increase the value of Zimbabwe’s lithium deposits and contribute to the world’s supply of battery material.
