Mutapa accelerates push for lithium processing

MUTAPA Energy Resources (MER) is racing against time to establish lithium processing capacity at Sandawana Mines ahead of the December deadline for ending raw concentrate exports.

The State-owned miner is however faced with funding constraints threatening to delay its beneficiation ambitions.

“As you are aware, in line with NDS2, we are expected to stop the export of concentrates in December 2026,” MER chief executive Innocent Rukweza said.

“On that basis, we are also in talks to ensure that we build a sulphate plant, which we intend to commence next year. However, we are fully aware that we are behind schedule.”

The company is developing a US$330 million concentrator plant at its Sandawana mines in Mberengwa, with an annual processing capacity of three million tonnes, as the government pushes mining companies to process more minerals locally and retain greater value from the country’s lithium resources.

The funding gap has been a major obstacle to the mine’s expansion, with MER having raised only about US$20 million against an initial domestic fundraising target of US$200 million.

Rukweza said the local capital market had struggled to provide the resources required to develop the processing infrastructure, forcing the company to seek alternative financing arrangements involving foreign investors.

The concentrator project is now estimated to cost between US$315 million and US$330 million, with Chinese partners among the investors supporting its development.

In the meantime, Sandawana has resorted to toll processing through Gwanda Lithium Company, which has handled about 310 000 tonnes of its lithium concentrate.

The mine has extracted 2,9 million tonnes of ore from its starter pit since January at an average grade of 1,48 percent, highlighting the scale of production that must increasingly be matched by domestic processing capacity.

Rukweza told lawmakers during a tour of Sandawana mines by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development that the company had invested more than US$65,3 million in supporting infrastructure, including a 52-kilometre access road, a power line and a water pipeline.

He also urged the government to address the high cost of doing business, arguing that taxes, export quotas, administrative procedures and electricity supply were affecting the competitiveness of mining investments.

Sandawana’s beneficiation drive comes as Zimbabwe seeks to increase mineral earnings through local processing, with the mining sector expected to generate US$12 billion this year.

The mine is wholly owned by MER and is expected to play a strategic role in expanding domestic participation in the lithium industry.

Parliamentary portfolio committee chairperson Remigio Matangira said the operation should also stimulate economic activity in Mberengwa through employment creation and corporate social investment.

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