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Premier African Minerals has registered significant early gains at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project, with flotation test runs delivering a concentrate grade exceeding 5%—a notable benchmark in the lithium production space, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

After the much-anticipated restart of the plant on July 6, 2025, following the installation of critical cleaner cell inserts in the flotation section, Premier has announced that the initial test run has yielded encouraging results, especially in terms of grade performance. However, the journey to optimisation is still underway, as Premier now turns focus toward recovery improvement and establishing a steady-state operation.

In a statement released on Friday, the company confirmed that the Zulu plant, located near Fort Rixon in Matabeleland South, achieved stability toward the end of the initial testing phase—a critical milestone after an extended period of downtime. The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) inserts have demonstrated that they effectively reduce concentrate retention time in the cleaner section—an issue flagged during previous operations.

“During this test run, there were encouraging signs, including an observed improvement in concentrate grade with results exceeding the target grade of 5% in the final cleaner cell prior to being pumped to the filter press (bagging plant),” the company said.

Despite the success in achieving high-grade concentrate, recoveries remain below the desired threshold. Excess lithium oxide (Li₂O) continues to show up in tailings, prompting the company to recirculate the material back into the flotation circuit in hopes of extracting more value.

Premier’s priority, as it stands, is achieving a commercially saleable grade—which appears within reach—before shifting focus to the more technical challenge of recovery rate optimisation.

To that end, Premier announced that the initial test run has temporarily ceased, and full operational control of the plant will be handed over to the OEM starting the week of July 21, 2025. This new phase, dubbed the “OEM Test Run,” is designed to ensure a consistent, steady-state operation that will lay the foundation for enhanced recoveries and overall plant efficiency.

“As much as Premier is pleased with the initial progress to date, we were frustrated with the time needed to get the plant into a constant running state,” said Premier CEO George Roach. “Although, as reminded by our OEM, this is not a simple plant, and maintaining target operating parameters requires time and patience.”

Roach also praised the unwavering support Premier continues to receive from its team on the ground. “We remain deeply appreciative of the ongoing support we have from our contractors, staff, and shareholders. Civil construction for the alternative spodumene float section is now almost complete, which is planned to provide both a fallback option if needed and also the ability to expand Zulu’s existing process capacity of spodumene concentrate.”

This dual-float capability could not only mitigate operational risks but also position Zulu as a scalable lithium supply node at a time when global markets are demanding higher outputs from diversified sources.

The Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project remains a flagship operation within Premier African Minerals’ diversified portfolio, which spans tungsten, lithium, rare earth elements, and gold across Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Zulu site has been central to Premier’s lithium ambitions, and while challenges have plagued the operation—ranging from plant engineering issues to broader market pressures—this latest milestone signals a potential turning point.

The company’s strategy now hinges on the successful completion of the OEM Test Run. A steady-state operation would not only allow consistent concentrate production but also generate critical performance data that will inform further upgrades and downstream planning. If successful, this phase could finally set Zulu on course for sustained commercial production and improved investor confidence.

The broader lithium market, while currently volatile, continues to hold long-term promise with battery technology, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage driving global demand. Premier’s ability to deliver a stable supply of battery-grade lithium from Zimbabwe could boost the country’s growing reputation as an attractive investment destination for energy minerals.

With Zimbabwe opening its doors wider to international capital and modernising its mining legislation, Premier’s progress at Zulu is a litmus test for the country’s readiness to deliver on its much-touted mining potential. The next few weeks at Zulu will be closely watched—not just by investors but also by the Zimbabwean government and global stakeholders in the green energy transition.

Caledonia Mining’s recent record gold production at its flagship Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe is the result of a deliberate strategic build-up combining a shift to a young, visible leadership model, cost discipline, and targeted growth initiatives.

By Ryan Chigoche

This was reviewed by CEO Mark Learmonth in a recent interview, conducted following the company’s announcement of a stellar 21,000-ounce output in the second quarter of 2025, pushing first-half production to nearly 39,000 ounces and prompting an upward revision of the full-year guidance.

Leadership on the Ground: A New Management Culture

A cornerstone of Caledonia’s improved performance has been a comprehensive management overhaul at Blanket.

In the interview, Learmonth explained that late last year, the company empowered a younger, more dynamic leadership team, embracing what he calls “visible leadership” or “management by walking around.”

“Late last year, we had a very comprehensive change in management at Blanket, as a result of which we’ve introduced—or we’ve allowed—a younger group of management to step up. You can use whatever fancy word you like, sort of visible leadership or management by walking around.

“But the upshot is that the new management team spends much more time underground, seeing what’s going on, seeing and being seen. And it’s just a fact of life that as they’re down there, as they’re underground, people work more productively and more is done.

“I think the other thing that we’ve become aware of as well is that as the management team spends more time underground, they’re picking up issues that need to be addressed much earlier. And so they get addressed much more quickly.”

This hands-on leadership style has boosted productivity and improved operational responsiveness, helping to unlock efficiencies in the complex, deep-level mine.

Life Beyond 10 Years: Blanket’s Long-Term Potential

Caledonia is also investing heavily in Blanket’s long-term sustainability. The mine has a proven reserve life of at least 10 years, with additional potential from broader measured, indicated, and inferred resources.

“We’re actually replacing more than we’re exploiting,” Learmonth noted in the interview.

While he remains cautious about overstating longevity, citing limited accounting value in extending mine life too far, he pointed to ongoing investments to improve underground infrastructure, ventilation, and electricity reliability.

Significantly, exploration activities have expanded slightly beyond the core mine footprint, targeting mineralised zones a few hundred metres east, north, and south of current operations.

Learmonth expressed optimism about this initiative: “We hope to come back by year-end with results that could add a new dimension to the operation.”

This development suggests Blanket’s productive horizon could extend further than previously anticipated.

Cost Focus and Growth Outlook

With production stabilised, Caledonia is now focusing on optimising costs.

Learmonth explained that while costs are under control, there remains scope for improvement in electricity use, labour deployment, and consumables—key cost drivers in a complex underground operation with over 2,000 employees.

“Cost control here can’t be rushed; it requires thoughtful, measured steps,” he said, emphasising the importance of balancing efficiency with safety and operational integrity.

Meanwhile, the company is progressing feasibility studies at the Bilboes gold project.

According to Learmonth, Caledonia is working to commercialise Bilboes responsibly, balancing growth ambitions with financial discipline to minimise equity dilution and risk.

Together, these elements—proactive management culture, strategic exploration, and disciplined cost control—form the foundation of Caledonia’s confident outlook for 2025 and beyond.

As Learmonth’s insights reveal, the company is not resting on recent production milestones but is actively positioning Blanket Mine—and Caledonia as a whole—for sustained success in Zimbabwe’s competitive gold sector.

Zimbabwe is preparing to enter a new era of mineral value addition, with Kuvimba Mining House set to break ground on a US$270 million lithium concentrator at its Sandawana Mine in the third quarter of 2025, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Kuvimba CEO Trevor Barnard confirmed the plan, saying the concentrator will handle 600,000 tonnes of ore annually, with commissioning expected by early 2027.

“Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentrator plant to be in production,” he said.

The confidence reflects a strategic gamble. With global lithium prices having dropped nearly 90% over the past two years amid oversupply, Barnard’s timing hinges on a market rebound driven by rising electric vehicle demand and supply constraints in the years ahead.

Zimbabwe has pledged to ban exports of lithium concentrates from 2027, and Sandawana’s concentrator represents a critical step toward that goal. Ballasting this strategy is the construction model: a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement with Chinese technical partners who will build and run the plant for up to five years before transferring full ownership to Zimbabwe.

“We’re still working on finalising a few agreements and making sure that our partners have all the industry conditions necessary for them to begin construction. We’re looking to break ground in the third quarter,” Barnard said.

Despite subdued lithium prices, analysts believe the market is set to stabilise as EV demand heats up and supply growth slows. It is within this projected upswing that Barnard plans to bring the Sandawana concentrator online, setting Zimbabwe up to capture its share of the clean energy transition.

In the meantime, Kuvimba has begun stockpiling ore at Sandawana and is toll-processing part of it at Tsingshan Holding’s plant in Gwanda, ensuring no disruptions before full-scale operation begins.

Zimbabwe has attracted over US$3 billion in lithium investments since 2021, with major players like Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, and Chengxin Lithium building downstream facilities. The Sandawana concentrator—fully owned by Kuvimba under a BOT framework—cements the government’s emphasis on value retention and strategic control.

As construction draws near, questions remain: Will the global market recover on schedule? Will the concentrator meet its targets? And—critically—can Zimbabwe leverage policy clarity and stable financing to make Sandawana a flagship project in its industrial future?

If all goes to plan, Zimbabwe’s investment in Sandawana will not just bring lithium processing onto national soil—it will reshape the country’s role in the global battery minerals economy.

Another dark cloud has hung over Mazowe District following the death of six artisanal miners at Starlake Mine on Friday, adding to the mounting number of mining-related tragedies in the area, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The accident, confirmed by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), occurred around 10:00 AM when a hoist used to extract miners from a 45-metre-deep shaft snapped, sending the bucket hurtling downwards with its human cargo. Four miners died instantly, while two others died shortly after admission at Concession District Hospital. Four more sustained injuries.

The deceased—Sebastian Dzaingwa (33), Tawanda Nyandoro (41), Edger Magenya (30), Milton Trust Ngonzwe (25), Elvis Kasaira (38), and Abel Majangara (25)—hailed from villages as far apart as Sanyati, Gokwe, Kwekwe, Nyanga, Mutoko, and Buhera. These were men who left their homes to seek a livelihood underground but returned in body bags. Their deaths, as with many others in recent weeks, highlight an industry that continues to thrive at the cost of human life.

Just days before this incident, two men were killed at Kwayedza Investments Mine, also in Mazowe, when an explosion erupted while they sat beside a fire to keep warm on a bitterly cold winter night. One man died on the spot; the other succumbed to his injuries at Concession Hospital. Police are still investigating the cause of the blast.

If that wasn’t enough, three more miners perished at Jumbo Mine—again in Mazowe—after the shaft they were working in collapsed, trapping and crushing them. Their colleagues and police retrieved their bodies hours later. No names were released, but the community’s collective grief has been loud and continuous.

Mazowe is no longer just a mining district—it’s become a death zone for Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale miners. The tragic trio of incidents—at Starlake, Kwayedza, and Jumbo Mines—reveals a bitter truth: we are normalising preventable deaths in the name of gold.

There’s a pattern here: collapsing shafts, faulty hoists, unregulated explosives, and nonexistent safety protocols. Each new body pulled out of the ground is met with official condolences and temporary murmurs of outrage, only for the mining operations to resume without consequence. It’s a vicious cycle. The mines keep running. The profits keep coming. And the miners keep dying.

Most of these mines operate under rudimentary and dangerous conditions. Safety isn’t just lax—it’s often nonexistent. The equipment used is outdated. The hoisting systems are makeshift. Explosives, in some cases, are stored and used in total violation of safety protocols. Ventilation is poor. Training is minimal. And regulatory oversight? A ghost.

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, together with agencies like the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), must shoulder part of the blame. While there’s been an uptick in efforts to formalise the artisanal mining sector, enforcement of safety protocols has lagged behind. The tragedy at Starlake Mine, in particular, exposes a failure to enforce basic mechanical and structural standards in shaft mining.

For every mining fatality reported, dozens more go undocumented in the chaos of the bush. In Mazowe, miners speak in hushed tones about colleagues buried in unmarked graves after failed rescue efforts. The ones lucky to escape with injuries usually return underground within days—driven by poverty, desperation, and the fear of starving more than dying.

“We are dying trying to survive,” one miner at Jumbo said. “These are not just accidents. They are avoidable deaths.”

His words echo louder than ever.

Civil society organisations and mining unions have started to raise their voices, demanding immediate action. Some are calling for the Ministry to suspend mining operations at any site where safety protocols are not being followed. Others are urging a full district audit of small-scale mining operations—particularly those relying on vertical shafts, hoists, or on-site explosives.

Funerals are being planned across the country—from Buhera to Kwekwe, from Nyanga to Mutoko—as families bury their loved ones. These are not just miners; they are breadwinners, parents, sons, and husbands whose only mistake was chasing Zimbabwe’s minerals with their bare hands and hopeful hearts.

Their deaths demand more than just mourning. They demand change.

How many more shafts must collapse before someone is held accountable? How many more explosions must rock the night before safety becomes non-negotiable? How many more Starlake Mines, Jumbo Mines, and Kwayedza Mines must take lives before government, mine owners, and regulators wake up?

Mazowe is bleeding. The time for condolences has long passed. What we need now is accountability, enforcement, and a renewed national commitment to protecting the lives of miners—before the earth swallows more sons.

Unki Mine reported a 2% decline in platinum group metals (PGM) production for the second quarter ended June 2025, producing 53,800 ounces.

By Ryan Chigoche

The dip was largely attributed to an anticipated lower built-up head grade and ongoing nationwide power shortages that disrupted the stability of the concentrator plant.

Zimbabwe’s worsening electricity crisis is taking a growing toll on the mining industry. Frequent load-shedding has disrupted operations, inflated production costs, and hindered output across the sector.

While major operators such as Zimplats and Blanket Mine have invested in solar and diesel-powered systems to maintain production, smaller producers continue to face extended downtimes due to limited alternatives.

The persistent power shortages are not only disrupting mining operations but also undermining export performance, particularly in energy-intensive sectors like platinum, lithium, and gold, posing a significant obstacle to the country’s broader economic ambitions for the mining industry.

The challenges at Unki mirror a broader decline across the group’s southern African operations. Valteras Platinum’s own mine production fell 15% year-on-year, with Unki’s modest decline compounded by a sharp 55% production drop at the Amandelbult complex in South Africa.

The latter was severely affected by earlier flooding at Tumela Mine, which forced the company to divert the bulk of the quarter toward infrastructure repairs. Operations at Tumela resumed in June, with full production expected to ramp up in the third quarter, though annual output is now forecast at 450,000–480,000 ounces, down from 580,000 ounces in 2024.

Despite these setbacks, the group’s overall operational base showed resilience. Excluding Amandelbult’s impact, own-mine production actually rose by 1%, driven by solid performances at Mogalakwena, Mototolo, and Modikwa.

Mogalakwena, the group’s flagship open-pit operation, delivered a 1% increase to 234,300 ounces, supported by improved throughput, stable runtime at the North concentrator, and process enhancements including the commissioning of Jameson cells.

Mototolo rose 2% to 67,500 ounces, benefiting from improved ore supply and a seven-day mining shift cycle introduced last year. Meanwhile, Modikwa (50% owned) reported a 6% increase to 38,300 ounces, thanks to higher tonnes milled and the introduction of open-pit Merensky material.

Unki Mine’s performance and the broader operational challenges were also reflected in the group’s refined and sales figures. Refined PGM production fell 17% to 954,000 ounces, while PGM sales volumes (excluding trading) dropped 22% to 981,500 ounces.

This was primarily due to the decline in mined output and the absence of the inventory drawdowns that had boosted figures in the prior year. Nonetheless, the group benefited from favourable pricing, with the average realised PGM basket price increasing 6% to US$1,508 per ounce.

This was supported by a 16% rise in rhodium prices and modest gains in platinum and palladium.

The group’s purchase of concentrate (POC) volumes decreased by 18% to 304,900 ounces, mainly due to the transition of Kroondal to a tolling arrangement in late 2024. On a like-for-like basis, excluding Kroondal, however, concentrate purchases rose 2%, driven by higher third-party receipts and improved Modikwa output.

Despite the turbulent quarter, Valteras Platinum remains on track to meet its full-year guidance, though now aiming for the lower end of projections due to the impact at Amandelbult.

The company expects mined and concentrated (M&C) production from its own operations to reach around 2.0 million PGM ounces, with POC between 1.0 and 1.2 million ounces. Refined production is projected to come in between 3.0 and 3.4 million ounces.

Still, persistent energy supply constraints, especially in Zimbabwe, remain a key operational risk. As the group looks to stabilise its output in the second half of the year, the ability to mitigate power-related disruptions will be crucial to sustaining performance and supporting long-term growth across its platinum portfolio.