Pan-African mining company Bravura is poised to significantly impact Zimbabwe’s mining industry as it gears up to become one of the major lithium producers in the country.
The company joined the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ) and proudly announced the completion of its state-of-the-art processing plant. Manufactured in South Africa and partially powered by Ai, the 300-tonne-per-hour plant is set to be installed at the Kamativi mine site in due course, marking a significant milestone for Bravura and the nation’s mining sector.
Bravura’s ambition was highlighted at the recent Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) Symposium, held during the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ)’s Annual General Meeting and Conference at Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls.
As a Platinum sponsor of the event, Bravura showcased its commitment to advancing Zimbabwe’s mining industry and received commendations from the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Hon. Winston Chitando.
Chitando expressed optimism about Bravura’s potential to become one of the country’s leading mining companies.
At Kamativi, the company focuses on processing tailings left by the Kamativi Tin Mine to extract lithium spodumene. With an estimated 25 million tonnes of tailings to process over eight years, Bravura’s project promises substantial economic benefits.
Olugbenga Ojo Bravura group General Manager the company confirmed that the plant had been commissioned and tested in South Africa and is ready for its critical role in Zimbabwe.
“The supplier has already commissioned the plant in South Africa and tests have been done,” Ojo said.
Head of the project, Dr. Tafadzwa Murinzi, in March at the mine site said the 30-tonne-per-hour processing plant will produce 30,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum.
“Our plant is a 300-tonne-per-hour plant, which translates to about 1.1 million tonnes of tailings being processed, and this translates to about 30,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum, which is about 25 million tonnes, and it is a spodumene grade of approximately 5%, which translates to lithium of about 0.6%. We’re expecting that with our plant capacity, we can mine it over 8 to 10 years. We will employ about 400 to 500 people, but obviously, we’ll begin in the initial phase, employing about 25% of that, and then we’ll only ramp up to about 400 to 500 people when the plant is operating at a steady state,” Dr Murinzi said.
Zimbabwe’s global contribution to lithium production stands at 1.8%. However, there is significant potential for growth with Bravura poised to make a difference.
The introduction of Bravura’s lithium processing plant in the Kamativi area is anticipated to revolutionize the local economic, social, and mental landscape in the otherwise lacklustre rural area.
Bravura will be the second company to operate in Kamativi after Lithium miner Kamativi Mining Company (KMC), breathing life into the small community about 85km from Hwange.
