Sinomine Resource Group, a Chinese company, has announced the successful completion of a spodumene concentrate plant at its Bikita Minerals lithium mine, as part of the growing efforts by Chinese battery minerals producers to increase output.
Sinomine acquired Bikita Minerals, one of Africa’s oldest lithium mines, for $180 million in January 2022. Since then, the company has been constructing a spodumene concentrate plant and expanding the existing petalite plant.
The Bikita mine is expected to produce 300,000 metric tons of spodumene concentrate, which will be further processed abroad to obtain lithium minerals used in battery manufacturing. Additionally, the annual petalite output at the mine will increase from approximately 50,000 metric tons to 480,000 metric tons. Petalite is primarily used in the ceramics and glass industries.
Zimbabwe, with its abundant lithium deposits, aims to leverage this resource to benefit from the global shift toward battery-powered energy and drive its economic growth.
Over the past two years, Chinese firms have invested more than $1 billion in acquiring and developing lithium projects in Zimbabwe, which boasts some of the world’s largest hard rock lithium reserves.
