Zimbabwe’s only lithium sulphate plant, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, currently has no capacity to process lithium concentrate from other producers, a company official said on Friday.
The disclosure comes after the Zimbabwean government announced that it will ban the export of lithium concentrate from January 2027 as part of efforts to promote local value addition, increase export earnings and create more jobs.
Lithium producers have appealed for more time to build processing facilities before the ban takes effect. However, the government has maintained that miners should process their concentrate at local plants instead of exporting it.
Although several processing plants are under construction, only one has so far been completed. Its operator, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, which is owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, says the facility is already operating at full capacity and cannot process material from third-party producers.
Speaking during a visit by Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt manager Mthokozisi Goliath said the company’s concentrator plant produces about 400,000 tonnes a year, leaving no spare capacity to process lithium concentrate from other mining companies.
“For now, this (sulphate) plant only has capacity that can manage what we produce at the concentrator plant,” he added.
Speaking during the visit, Kambamura reaffirmed that the ban on lithium concentrate exports would take effect as scheduled at the beginning of next year.
“The January 2027 deadline is still on. We cannot talk of extending right now. We would like to urge all ​producers to stick to that deadline,” said Kambamura.
Sinomine Resource Group’s Bikita Minerals and Kamativi Mining Company, the Zimbabwean subsidiary of China’s Yahua Group, are constructing processing plants that are unlikely to be ready by January 2027.
More: Reuters
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