Mines and Mining Development Minister Dr Polite Kambamura has commended Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) for delivering Africa’s first lithium sulphate processing plant, while urging the company to accelerate compliance with government commitments on skills transfer, local staffing, and laboratory development, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking during a technical visit to the Arcadia facility, Kambamura said the $400 million plant built by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt represents a significant milestone in Zimbabwe’s beneficiation strategy under the Second Republic. The facility, which processes spodumene and petalite into lithium sulphate, has an installed capacity of 50,000 metric tons a year and is currently operating at 60% of that level.
“This is the largest three-line single-phase lithium sulphate plant in Africa,” Kambamura said. “We are very happy as a government to be witnessing this milestone, especially as the government is pushing for local value addition and beneficiation.”
The Minister noted that a lithium carbonate plant is already 90% complete at the same site, with completion expected in August this year. The progression from lithium sulphate to carbonate, a higher-value product used directly in electric vehicle batteries, is part of a broader strategy to move Zimbabwe up the lithium value chain.
“We’ll rest only after we can now produce, or will be able to produce, lithium batteries and solar panels. That’s the thrust of government: to produce finished products from lithium,” he said.
Compliance Commitments Under Scrutiny
While praising PLZ for its investment, Kambamura said the government will closely monitor the company’s progress on commitments made following the February suspension of raw mineral and concentrate exports. He identified several areas requiring urgent attention, including the development of laboratories, skills and knowledge transfer, training for local personnel, and the placement of Zimbabweans in senior management roles.
“We are here again to follow up on the commitment that the company made, especially after the February ban, the commitment that they agreed to stick to. We’ve seen they’ve managed to do some, and some are still a work in progress,” he said.
The Minister emphasised that the government will examine the sector “with a new eye” to ensure that all producers adhere to their obligations.
“So that they understand what is happening, compliance issues, and audited financials. We are leaving no stone unturned so that the government will continue to benefit immensely from our lithium resources,” he said.
Kambamura urged other lithium producers operating in Zimbabwe to follow PLZ’s example in developing domestic processing capacity. The government has identified 17 lithium projects that are either operational or under development, with Chinese companies including Sinomine and Yahua Group among the major investors.
“I would like to urge other lithium producers to follow suit, the good example, the good steps that Huayou Cobalt has shown to the government,” he said.
The Arcadia project has created 2,000 direct jobs and another 2,000 indirect positions, with the majority of workers drawn from surrounding communities, according to the company. However, the government is pushing for greater local participation in higher-skilled roles and management positions.
Zimbabwe holds Africa’s largest lithium reserves, with the government estimating the mineral could generate significant foreign currency earnings and support industrialisation. The push for beneficiation aligns with the National Development Strategy 2 and the broader Vision 2030, which aims to transition the country to an upper-middle-income economy.
“The construction of the first lithium plant, a lithium sulphate plant in Africa, is behind me, and this was done in Zimbabwe,” Kambamura said, emphasising the significance of the achievement.
Data shows the country exported 1.128 million metric tons of spodumene concentrate in 2025, an 11% increase from the previous year. Yet, export earnings remained largely unchanged at about $513.8 million as weaker global prices offset higher volumes. The figures have reinforced government arguments that raw exports limit the country’s ability to benefit fully from its mineral wealth.
Kambamura said the government is committed to supporting the sector’s development while ensuring that Zimbabweans benefit from the resource.
“So all the talk of lithium sulphate, now we are going to lithium carbonate. The next step will be getting lithium batteries in Zimbabwe. That’s where we are going,” he said.
