Minister of Mines and Mining Development Honourable Zhemu Soda
By Dickson Bandera
The global rise in demand for lithium and battery minerals has presented Zimbabwe with a number of investment opportunities which need to be taken up by local and foreign investors, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Zhemu Soda has said.
Minister Soda made the remarks during the Lithium and Battery Minerals Conference organised by the Zimbabwe School of Mines at the Mine Entra Conference in Bulawayo which ran from the 1st to the 3rd of November 2023.
The opportunities, which range from exploration, mining, value addition and beneficiation, logistics, finance and other supplies across value chain, stem from the fact that Zimbabwe is blessed with an abundance of the lithium resource, making it one of the top producers in Africa and the World.
“As I have previously mentioned, the demand for materials used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries has increased dramatically. Due to this demand, new investors, both local and foreign, have entered the sector to mine, process and export lithium and battery minerals from Zimbabwe,” said the minister.
“At this moment it time, Zimbabwe is under explored when it comes to mineral findings. Exploration of our vast mineral resources results in increased revenue generation. Our country can boost its revenue generation by investing in the exploration and discovery of new battery mineral deposits that can be extracted and sold to global markets.
“It is important to note that investors wishing to invest in highly promising companies are often attracted to mineral exploration projects,” he added
With over 60 internationally tradable minerals, the country is home to other minerals critical to developing EV batteries, including cobalt, manganese, nickel, and graphite.
The minister also underlined the benefits that accrue from mining exploration operations.
“Successful exploration of our mineral resources therefore leads to long-term investments by foreign companies as exemplified by the recent commissioning of the Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe and Sabi Starr Lithium mines and processing plants. Most of these foreign companies, have injected a total of above USD 600 Million into the various projects,” he said
It is indeed without doubt that with vibrant exploration operations, the country can fetch sustainable benefits that include employment creation, economic diversification and technology transfer.
Minister Soda also said there were opportunities in the mining cluster in both the brownfield and greenfield projects.
“There are various opportunities in the Mining Sector and Government is working to ensure that operations of these lead to Sustainable Development. Mining opportunities are available in both green-field and brown-field projects.
“In the already existing brownfield projects mines require retooling and new technology so as to increase the efficiency and productivity. Also there is an opportunity in the resuscitation of closed mines and expansion of the operations of existing mines,” said Minister Soda.
There are also opportunities in the value addition and beneficiation as government amplifies its position in extracting best value out of local resources. The opportunities include mineral processing involving conversion of ore into lithium concentrate, chemical processing of concentrates into products such as lithium carbonate, Battery manufacture for laptops, cell phones and electrical motor vehicles as well as manufacturing of glass and ceramics.
The minister also paid tribute to the Chamber of Mines for their role in the Lithium and Battery minerals sector.
“The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development wishes to acknowledge the role being played by associations such as the Chamber of Mines in the Lithium and Battery Minerals Sector. We urge miners in the lithium and battery minerals sector to join such associations as we move to promote the sector in country,” he said.
The mining industry in Zimbabwe is anticipated to make a significant contribution to the country’s attainment of Vision 2030’s goal of becoming an Upper Middle Income Economy by 2030. Lithium and Battery Minerals such as tantalum, graphite, nickel, manganese and tin are expected to contribute hugely to the mining sector’s expansion.
The trajectory so far reflects that these targets can be met. In the past five years, the country has registered tremendous growth in the Lithium mining industry, with exports of Lithium increasing from USD 1.8 Million in 2018 to USD 209 Million by September 2023.
Zimbabwe has also managed to attract renowned mining companies such as the world’s biggest producer of Cobalt, Zhejiang Huayou who acquired controlling rights to Zimbabwe’s Arcadia mine, also known as Prospect Lithium (Pvt) Ltd in Goromonzi. Prospect Lithium is Africa’s biggest Lithium plant.
Other major investments include the Premier African Minerals Limited joint venture agreement with Li3 Resources Inc to acquire a 50% interest in Premier’s lithium assets located in Mutare, the acquisition of a 100% stake in African Metals Management Services and Southern African Metals and Minerals by Hong Kong’s Sinomine for US$180m (Bikita Lithium Mine) as well as Sabi Star Mine in Buhera.
The mining sector itself accounts for 73 percent of Zimbabwe’s foreign direct investment, 83 percent of exports, 19 percent of government revenues, 2 percent of formal employment and 11 percent of individual incomes.
This is a huge development and the government continues to review and craft policies to expand the mining industry.
