Online Reporter
Masvingo Bureau
SINOMINE Bikita Minerals has secured US$500 million to build a lithium sulphate plant, an investment that will help propel Zimbabwe further up the battery minerals value chain by enabling local production of a key chemical used in lithium-ion batteries.
The project, whose first phase is scheduled for completion by June next year, will make Bikita Minerals the country’s second producer of lithium sulphate, reinforcing the ongoing drive to beneficiate critical minerals and maximise value from the country’s vast lithium resources.
The first phase of the project will have the capacity to produce 60 000 tonnes of lithium sulphate annually, while a second phase, expected to come on stream at the beginning of 2028, will add another 65 000 tonnes, raising total annual production to 125 000 tonnes.
Lithium sulphate is an intermediate chemical produced from spodumene concentrate before being refined into battery-grade lithium chemicals such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.
These are essential raw materials in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage systems and a wide range of electronic devices.
Once operational, Bikita Minerals Sinomine will become the second company in Zimbabwe to produce lithium sulphate after Chinese mining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which exported its first consignment earlier this year.
Officials at Bikita Minerals Sinomine revealed details of the project during a recent visit by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda, who led a delegation of senior Government officials on a tour of flagship development projects across Masvingo province.
Bikita Minerals Sinomine assistant general manager Mr Thomas Mufumi said feasibility studies had been completed, land for the project identified and funding secured.
“We have completed feasibility studies for a lithium sulphate plant at Bikita Minerals Sinomine and the project will cost US$500 million. Funding for this project has already been ring-fenced,” said Mr Mufumi.
“The land for the plant has been identified and it is all systems go. If all goes according to plan, we should complete the first phase in the second quarter of next year, with annual production of 60 000 tonnes.
“The second and final phase entails constructing another plant with annual capacity of 65 000 tonnes, taking total lithium sulphate production to 125 000 tonnes per year.”
Mr Mufumi said the company had also invested more than US$70 million in a hybrid processing plant that extracts spodumene concentrate, cesium and petalite from the mine’s ore.
“The hybrid processing plant first extracts spodumene concentrate, with annual output of about 60 000 tonnes. The second stage processes cesium from pollucite before finally extracting petalite from the remaining material,” he said.
He also revealed that geologists at the mine had discovered a previously unknown mineral named bikitaite, after the mine where it was first identified.
Research is continuing to determine its potential commercial applications.
Since Sinomine Resource Group acquired Bikita Minerals in 2022, the company has invested approximately US$383 million in expanding mining operations and increasing processing capacity.
The additional US$500 million investment in the lithium sulphate plant will push total investment at the mine to nearly US$900 million, underscoring the company’s long-term commitment to Zimbabwe’s mining sector and confidence in the country’s lithium industry.
The investment comes as the Government presses ahead with policies requiring lithium miners to process the mineral locally instead of exporting low-value concentrates.
Zimbabwe, which possesses some of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits, has for years lost substantial export earnings by shipping unprocessed or semi-processed lithium products that command significantly lower prices on international markets than refined battery-grade chemicals.
The export of concentrates has also meant exporting jobs, industrial activity and downstream investment opportunities.
To reverse this trend, the Government banned the export of raw lithium ore in 2022 before extending the restrictions to cover lithium concentrates, except under approved exemptions, compelling mining companies to invest in value-addition facilities.
Commending the investment, Dr Soda said Bikita Minerals Sinomine had responded positively to the Government’s call for local beneficiation and had undergone remarkable transformation over the past few years.
“When I last came here, many of the facilities that are now here did not exist. What has happened at Bikita Minerals over the past few years is truly encouraging because the mine now produces spodumene concentrate, the high-value mineral cesium and petalite from a modern hybrid processing plant,” he said.
“What Bikita Minerals Sinomine has done is in sync with Government’s thrust for locally produced minerals to be beneficiated so that we create more jobs instead of exporting them, earn more foreign currency and grow both Zimbabwe’s gross domestic product and Masvingo province’s economy.”
