Bikita Minerals contributed about US$80 million in taxes in the third quarter of 2026 as stronger lithium prices lifted the value of its output, with the Sinomine-owned operation stepping up investment in local processing, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The contribution comes as lithium has emerged as the biggest driver of Zimbabwe’s mineral export earnings, with higher spodumene prices pushing lithium sales ahead of platinum group metals while producers expand processing capacity.
Speaking at an MMCZ lithium media tour, Thomas Mufumi, Deputy General Manager at Sinomine Bikita Minerals, said the higher tax contribution reflected improved lithium prices during much of 2026, although the market remained volatile.
“And as of the current quarter, we have earned a tax contribution of roughly US$80 million. This speaks to the improved prices we have been experiencing for the better part of 2026.
“However, it is important to appreciate that the lithium industry is not yet stable. There are still a lot of fluctuations in demand, supply and pricing, and these are reflected in the tax contributions,” Mufumi said.
The latest MMCZ figures underline the strength of the lithium market this year, with mineral export sales excluding gold and silver reaching US$4.735 billion in the first nine months, more than double the US$2.347 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Lithium accounted for US$2.159 billion, or 45.6% of mineral sales, overtaking PGMs at US$1.729 billion, while spodumene sales surged 368.2% to US$1.812 billion.
The average realised spodumene price rose to US$1,483 a tonne from US$387 in the same period last year, a 283% increase, while petalite sales reached US$155.29 million and lithium sulphate contributed US$190.52 million from 33,807 tonnes.
For Bikita, the shift is particularly significant. Spodumene has become the mine’s dominant export mineral as demand from battery-related markets has grown, while petalite production has remained relatively consistent but on an upward trajectory.
The stronger returns are now being accompanied by a push to capture more of the value within Zimbabwe.
Sinomine has invested more than US$320 million in spodumene and petalite beneficiation at Bikita, with completed investment reaching about US$323 million by 2026. Total planned investment is expected to reach about US$900 million by the end of 2027.
At the centre of the programme is a US$400 million lithium sulphate plant, which will take Bikita further downstream from concentrate production into lithium chemical processing.
The plant is targeted for completion in July 2027, followed by commissioning, as the company deepens its commitment to lithium beneficiation in Zimbabwe.
Bikita is also expanding its spodumene processing capacity from about two million tonnes a year to three million tonnes by the second quarter of next year.
The wider investment programme includes a more than US$60 million expansion and pre-concentration project, a further US$6 million tantalite extraction project and a 50MW power station costing more than US$60 million.
The expansion is reshaping Bikita from a predominantly mining operation into a more integrated processing business, with ore passing through separation, optical sorting and gravimetric processes to recover different mineral streams.
The mine’s resource base has also expanded sharply since Sinomine acquired the operation, rising from about 29 million tonnes to more than 218 million tonnes of lithium-bearing minerals and extending the projected mine life by more than 15 years.
That growth has been matched by a sharp increase in employment, with about 1,400 direct employees now at the operation, up from roughly 300 previously, while contractors take the wider workforce above 2,000.
With lithium now accounting for nearly half of MMCZ-marketed mineral export sales, Bikita’s investment in sulphate production and expanded processing capacity puts the mine at the centre of Zimbabwe’s push to move beyond concentrate exports and retain more mineral value locally.
