By Dickson Bandera
GOROMONZI — Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Winston Chitando, on Thursday conducted a high-level visit to Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), also known as Arcadia Mine in Goromonzi District, Mashonaland East Province, where he commended the company for its remarkable progress in value addition and beneficiation in line with the government’s Vision 2030 agenda.
The minister described the engagement as a brief but strategic assessment tour that offered a comprehensive overview of operations at the lithium processing plant — one of the most significant investments realized under the Second Republic’s “Zimbabwe is Open for Business” policy.
“It was a very short tour which gave us a high-level overview of what is happening,” Chitando said. “This mine is a direct product of the Zimbabwe is Open for Business mantra and represents a major step toward achieving Vision 2030. The concession was awarded to the investors during the Second Republic, and what we are witnessing now is construction and implementation of value addition work.”
He praised the company for responding positively to the presidential call for beneficiation and for its commitment to building a strong and sustainable operation.
“When His Excellency came for the groundbreaking ceremony, he challenged the investor to go all the way in terms of value addition — and I must say, the investor has done us proud,” said Chitando.
“All this has been made possible thanks to the visionary leadership of His Excellency and his ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ policy, which continues to attract investment, foster growth, and position our nation for industrial transformation.”
Minister Chitando also revealed that a 70-megawatt power plant is under construction to support mining and processing operations, guaranteeing a reliable power supply for the site.
Currently, the mine processes 3.6 million tonnes of spodumene ore annually, producing lithium concentrates that will feed into a new lithium sulphate plant now being built.
“The lithium sulphate plant will take concentrate to sulphate, which is a direct input into battery manufacturing. The project commenced early this year, and Zimbabwe is set to start producing lithium sulphate in 2026,” said Minister Chitando.
This development represents a significant leap in Zimbabwe’s beneficiation drive, transitioning from the export of raw lithium ore to the production of value-added materials used in electric vehicle and energy storage batteries. The government has since announced plans to ban raw lithium exports by 2027 as part of efforts to promote local processing and industrialisation in line with Vision 2030.
Owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt of China, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe operates the Arcadia Mine, a US$300 million investment that began production in 2023. The company is further investing US$230 million in the new lithium sulphate plant as part of its ongoing value-chain expansion.
