Zimbabwe aims to break ground for $270mln new lithium plant this year
The state-owned miner is partnering with two Chinese metals giants to build the 600,000 metric ton per year lithium concentrator. The two firms will build and operate the plant for a minimum of five years, before transferring it back to Kuvimba. Barnard declined to name the companies, citing ongoing talks.
"We are still finalising the last few agreements that we need to put in place and making sure we have all the necessary and compatible industry conditions for our partner to start construction," Barnard told reporters.
"We are looking at breaking ground in the third quarter," he added.
Kuvimba, which has been stockpiling lithium ore at Sandawana, has been hauling some of it to a processing plant in Gwanda, owned by Chinese nickel and steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group.
Barnard said the targeted completion of the Sandawana lithium concentrator could coincide with a recovery in the price of the battery metal.
A supply glut mainly driven by Chinese output has caused lithium prices to plunge nearly 90% over the past two years, forcing miners to halt projects and cut jobs. However, analysts say those production cuts and robust electric vehicle sales in China could propel lithium demand above supply this year.
"Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentration plant to be in production," Barnard said.
Zimbabwe, Africa's top lithium producer, has said it will ban the export of lithium concentrates from 2027 to push for more local processing. By then, the government expects Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine to have completed facilities for further processing in the country.
(Reporting by Chris Takudzwa Muronzi. Editing by Nelson Banya and Mark Potter)
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