President Mnangagwa commissions Bikita Minerals Spodumene and Petalite processing plant

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Today, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa will preside over the Sinomine Resource Group Co. Ltd Bikita Minerals Spodumene and Petalite processing plant commissioning ceremony at Bikita Minerals in Masvingo.

Bikita Minerals which employs 860 workers holds 11 million tonnes of lithium, the world’s largest-known deposit of the mineral.

China’s Sinomine Resource Group took over Bikita Minerals, which was at the time Zimbabwe’s sole lithium-producing mine and one of Africa’s oldest, in a USD 180 million deal last year.

Lithium is being seen as Zimbabwe’s way out of a three-decade-long economic crisis. Analysts have argued the mineral could also help circumvent the effects of trade and financial aid restrictions since the early 2000s.

The Chinese miner invested a further USD 200 million to expand existing operations at Bikita, including the construction of two lithium processing plants to produce 250,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate and 480,000 tonnes of petalite per year.

Spodumene is another key battery mineral, and petalite is a lithium mineral used in the glass and ceramic industries.

Zwnews