PLZ Set to Launch Education-Focused CSR Objectives for 2025
Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), is set to unveil its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives for 2025. This initiative will mark one of the company’s largest efforts to date.
By Ryan Chigoche
The launch of these CSR objectives follows the company’s significant community development initiatives, including improvements at a local primary school and the construction of a road linking Majuru Township in Goromonzi to the mine.
During an event held at the company headquarters yesterday, PLZ’s Public Relations Manager, Patience Chizodza, hinted at the education-focused nature of the company’s upcoming CSR objectives. While she did not reveal extensive details, she shared some insights into the plans.
“We have already conducted community assessments in partnership with the University of Zimbabwe. Their research findings highlighted areas such as health, education, skill development, and children’s growth. We will officially launch our CSR objectives for 2025 on the 13th of December,” Chizodza said.
Over the past two years, PLZ has made significant investments in education, including a scholarship program that has benefited 70 students from 13 wards across the Goromonzi district.
At Vhuta School, where the company plans to unveil its 2025 CSR objectives, PLZ has already constructed classroom blocks and staff quarters. Additionally, other schools in the area, including Ivordale, Musirikwi, Belmont, and Mwanza, have received new furniture and textbooks as part of the company’s ongoing CSR efforts.
PLZ has also implemented a solar lighting project along the Goromonzi Road, aimed at reducing crime in the community, and is constructing a police base in Ward 13 to enhance security.
Beyond education and security, the company has been actively involved in supporting local agriculture and infrastructure development.
In 2024, one of PLZ’s major projects was the rehabilitation of the 26 km road from the Goromonzi turn-off to the mine. Addressing journalists, Chizodza confirmed that the remaining 8 km stretch of the road would be completed by the end of the year.
PLZ is a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Limited, one of the world’s largest producers of lithium-ion battery materials and cobalt-based materials.
In 2021, Huayou acquired a controlling interest in Zimbabwe’s Arcadia Lithium Mine in Goromonzi from the Australian mining group Prospect Resources for USD 377.8 million.