Online Reporter
Nqobile Bhebhe, Zimpapers Business Hub
Premier African Minerals has achieved a major breakthrough at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project near Fort Rixon in Matabeleland South, with flotation test runs yielding a concentrate grade above five percent.
This milestone represents a key advancement in the company’s pursuit of reliable commercial lithium production.
This development comes shortly after the restart of operations on 6 July 2025, following the successful installation of critical cleaner cell inserts in the flotation circuit.
The previous setup had faced serious technical hurdles, particularly with concentrate retention that hampered overall output.
“During this test run, there were encouraging signs, including an observed improvement in concentrate grade with results exceeding the target grade of five percent in the final cleaner cell prior to being pumped to the filter press (bagging plant),” said the company in a statement.
Although the concentrate grade now meets commercial standards, Premier acknowledged that recovery rates still require optimisation, as excess lithium oxide (Li₂O) remains present in tailings.
“This has not been matched for now by a meaningful improvement in recoveries, with excess LiO₂ present in the tailings which are then recirculated to the flotation circuit,” the company noted.
To address this, Premier has temporarily halted the initial plant test run and will hand over full operational control to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the flotation plant for a dedicated optimisation phase.
This critical phase, scheduled for the week commencing 21 July 2025, aims to establish a sustained steady-state of operation, which will offer a clearer assessment of the plant’s overall performance.
“Ongoing maintenance and checks of the operation of each of the plant components continue, with the intention to have the plant restarted as part of the OEM Test Run next week,” the company said.
Premier African Minerals chief executive officer, Mr George Roach, acknowledged the progress made but voiced concern over the time required to bring the plant to consistent operational status.
“We remain deeply appreciative of the ongoing support we have from our contractors, staff and shareholders. Civil construction for the alternative spodumene float section is now almost complete, which is planned to provide both a fallback option if needed and also the ability to expand Zulu’s existing process capacity of spodumene concentrate,” said Mr Roach.
Zimbabwe, which hosts one of the largest lithium deposits in Africa, continues to attract substantial global attention amid rising demand for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage systems.
