Harare, (New Ziana) -The drive by Zimbabwe to deepen local mineral beneficiation is set for another major boost, with state-owned Mutapa Energy Resources expected to commission a US$300 million lithium concentrator at Sandawana Mine in Zvishavane, the Midlands province, by November next year.
Posting on its National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) X handle, formerly Twitter, the government said construction of the plant is expected to begin next month, marking a significant milestone in its efforts to move beyond the export of raw minerals to capturing greater value from its strategic resources.
It said the investment would strengthen the position of the country in the global lithium value chain by processing the mineral closer to its source, while supporting investment, employment creation and industrialization.
“Mutapa Energy Resources is set to commission a US$300 million lithium concentrator plant at Sandawana Mine in Zvishavane by November 2027, with construction expected to begin next month,” it said.
The development comes as Sandawana emerges as an increasingly important asset in the country’s ambitions to build a domestic battery-minerals industry, with the planned concentrator expected to provide the processing capacity required to underpin the mine’s expansion while advancing the broader beneficiation agenda of the country.
Value addition has become a central pillar of the government’s economic development strategy, seeking to ensure that the country derives more revenue, industrial activity and employment from its mineral endowment rather than exporting predominantly unprocessed materials.
The Sandawana development also comes against the backdrop of growing global demand for lithium, a critical component in batteries used in electric vehicles and energy-storage systems.
“Lithium is increasingly central to Zimbabwe’s mining future,” the government said, noting that demand for the battery mineral is being driven by electric vehicles, energy-storage systems and the global transition towards cleaner energy.
It is also expected that the project will have wider socio-economic implications for communities around Sandawana, where Mutapa is currently relocating 104 families from land earmarked for the plant, with new homes being constructed as part of the resettlement program.
The investment comes as Zimbabwe seeks to position itself higher up the global critical-minerals value chain and use its mineral wealth to accelerate industrialization under NDS2 and the vision to become an upper middle income society by 2030 (Vision 2030).
“With mineral resources to higher-value products, Zimbabwe is positioning its lithium industry for a bigger role in the global green energy transition,” the government said.
If delivered on schedule, the Sandawana concentrator will add to a growing wave of lithium-processing investments in Zimbabwe and reinforce the push by the government to transform the country from a supplier of raw minerals into a producer of higher-value mineral products.
New Ziana
