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Chinese battery minerals producer Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt said on Wednesday it had started trial production of lithium concentrates at its Arcadia mine in Zimbabwe.

Huayou, one of the biggest cobalt producers in the world, acquired Arcadia from Australia-listed Prospect Resources PSC.AX and its Zimbabwean partners in a $422-million deal completed in 2022. After the transaction, Huayou said it would spend $ 300 million to build a plant to process 4.5 million tonnes of lithium ore at Arcadia.

“All production lines of the Arcadia lithium mine project … have completed equipment installation and commissioning, put materials into trial production and successfully produced the first batch of products,” Huayou said in a statement.

The Arcadia mine is expected to produce 50 000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent lithium concentrate, Huayou said.

The company said Arcadia, its biggest investment in Africa to date, was a key step towards its strategy to secure and build a chain of lithium assets.

On Wednesday, Huayou also announced a A$2.5-million ($1.67-million) investment in Australia-listed Askari Metals to advance the exploration of its Uis lithium project, in Namibia.

Huayou also has two copper and cobalt projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with an annual production of 100 000 tonnes of cathode copper and 10 000 tonnes of cobalt.

The company also has three nickel and cobalt projects in Indonesia, with an expected annual production of 225 000 tonnes of nickel and 23 000 tonnes of cobalt products by 2024.

Mining Weekly

Gold dealing license fees have now been pegged at us$200 000 per year.

This was announced by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development via Statutory Instrument 32 of 2023.

The SI reads

“IT is hereby notified that the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, in terms of section 19 of the Gold Trade Act [Chapter 21:03], made the following regulations:

1. These regulations may be cited as the Gold Trade (Licence Fees) (Amendment) Notice, 2023 (No. 1).
2. The Gold Trade (Licences Fees) Notice, 1978, published in Rhodesia Government Notice 256 of 1978 is amended by the repeal of paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 and the substitution of—“SCHEDULE 2 (Section 2) LICENCE FEESLicence                                                                  Fee US$

   Gold dealing licence…………………………………. 200 000.00.”.

What is a gold dealing license?

Gold Dealing License is issued by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development. It authorises individuals and companies to buy, refine and export gold.

“This is not the same with the Gold buying agent permits. Fidelity Gold Refinery (Pvt) Ltd issues Gold buying agent permits while the Ministry of Finance Issues Gold dealership licenses,” Fidelity Gold Refinery (Pvt) Ltd Magamombe said.

Gold buying license

To get a gold buying permit interested parties visit FGR.  An interview will be scheduled and in the interview, they should be prepared to commit to the gold quantities they are able to buy per month. It is a must that this target is met. Licenses are issued on a monthly basis and should the license holder not meet the monthly target the license will not be renewed.

The European metals sector welcomed a move by the EU on Thursday to include copper and nickel as strategic materials for the first time and ensure speedier permits and easier access to capital, but said more could be done to secure supplies.

The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) unveiled by the European Union adds the two major industrial metals to a list that had previously focused on more niche minerals such as cobalt, lithium and rare earths.

Copper is used in renewable energy systems and for wiring in electric vehicles (EVs) while nickel is a major component in many EV batteries.

Mining and metals companies, including Sweden’s Boliden, cheered EU plans in the CRMA to provide streamlined permits and access to financing for projects pegged as strategic.

However, to ensure a supply of materials needed for the green transition, other industrial metals such as aluminium should be included while fair competition with China also needs to be addressed, industry groups and firms said.

The VDM Association of German Metal Traders and Recyclers was among those pushing for aluminium and zinc to be included.

“These areas of the metal industry also need fast approval procedures and, above all, competitive energy prices,” the group said in a statement.

The EU already produces about 15% of its needs for copper, well above the overall 10% target set by the EU for strategic minerals, but the situation could deteriorate, the CEO of Aurubis, Europe’s biggest refined copper producer, said.

“Every mine gets depleted therefore it is time to act now to ensure that new mining projects, which will take years to develop, are being approved in time,” Roland Harings told Reuters in an interview.

Harings also said the EU must ensure fair competition with China and other countries so the metals recycling industry can thrive.

“We have absolutely no problem in being in competition if there’s a level playing field. If everybody has to respect minimum environmental, labour and other standards.”

Aurubis sees recycling as a huge growth area with new plants being built and has the intention in the longer term to also move into recycling of electric vehicle batteries.

Mining Weekly

A Globe & Phoenix primary school classroom in Kwekwe has collapsed into a mine shaft due to uncontrolled underground mining activities, reliable sources have told Mining Zimbabwe.

Seven students were injured reportedly in the collapse.

This is a developing story…