admin
Wallace Ruzvidzo-Herald Reporter
Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) has concluded construction works at its Goromonzi plant and is set to commence production soon, feeding into the Second Republic’s US$12 billion mining industry economy by end of this year.
The development comes as the mining company yesterday celebrated its first anniversary since embarking on the lithium project.
In a statement yesterday, PLZ’s chairman Mr George Fang said the lithium plant was now awaiting commissioning before production begins.
He said the project had been necessitated by President Mnangagwa’s ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ mantra.
“We would like to thank most sincerely the Government for the facilitation it has provided for our investment to find a home in the Republic of Zimbabwe,” said Mr Fang.
“We were inspired by the clarion call that, ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ and the vision and strategic plans of authorities to allow capital to thrive for the benefit of the economy and attainment of upper middle income status by 2030.
“We are delighted that our own modest investment will help the Government and people of Zimbabwe to realise their development aspirations. As an investor and corporate citizen, we are ready to join hands with you all in building this great country for the benefit of its wonderful people and posterity.”
Lithium is expected to generate about US$500 million in total mineral exports from this year.
PLZ embarked on the project on April 20 last year, when its parent company, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Company Limited, acquired the Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe asset and began the work of building one of the world’s most sophisticated plants for the processing of hard rock lithium mineral resources.
Construction work began in May 2022 and by January this year, they had finished the construction phase, which was a record for the company.
The parent company, Huayou, was founded in 2002 and over the past two decades, it has become a multinational corporation with a revenue base of more than US$48 billion and market value of over US$100 billion, ranking among the top 500 enterprises in China.
Huayou consists of an integrated industrial structure consisting of resource, smelting, material recycling, and constructed an operation of overseas resources, domestic manufacturing and global manufacturing.
It has become a leading enterprise in the global cobalt industry and new energy lithium industry.
Said Mr Fang: “We are happy that as Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe we carry the spirit and values of Huayou. We are proud of our origins and our place in the world, hence the motto, ‘Rooted in China, making friends everywhere’.
“Further, and more fundamentally, we are proud to become part of the communities that we operate in, as we become one with the people and environment. As such our investment philosophy is, ‘Wherever we invest, we must contribute to the local economy and society’. The spirit of Huayou that, ‘Constantly strive to become stronger and pursue excellence’ has become our guiding light.”
At inception, PLZ called on local communities to take up employment opportunities, resulting in hundreds of people being employed from local villages and wards in Goromonzi District, while more people with varying skills came from all over the country.
About 1 000 people were employed during the construction stage, hundreds more will get jobs when production goes full scale.
Mr Fang expressed gratitude to the company’s workforce and management for their diligent and honest work, adding that the work done would put Zimbabwe on the global map of renewable energy and technology value chains.
PLZ general manager Mr Henry Zhu, said they are not just focused on the business side of things, but also improving infrastructure and the living standards of the people of Mashonaland East through their corporate social responsibility programmes.
He said this year, they focus on rolling out one of the biggest CSR programmes in the province.
Already, they have invested in education, health, water, security and road infrastructure.
They have transformed Vhuta Primary School, which is close to their operations, through building of new classroom blocks and teachers’ houses.
Other schools have been furnished and were provided learning materials.
Boreholes were also sunk for the community and roads upgraded to the benefit of the local agriculture and mining economies.
PLZ is supporting agriculture initiatives to ensure food security and is empowering local farmers through creating a market for their produce.
Online Reporter