Zimbabwe's sole lithium salt plant unable to process third
Zimbabwe's only operational lithium sulphate plant, owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, lacks the capacity to process third-party minerals. This poses a challenge for the government's upcoming 2027 ban on raw concentrate exports.
Why it matters
The bottleneck threatens the government's goal of domestic mineral beneficiation and highlights the infrastructure gaps in the country's mining sector.
Zimbabwe's sole lithium salt plant unable to process third-party metal, official says - NewZimbabwe.com
Zimbabwe’s sole lithium salt plant unable to process third-party metal, official says
Zimbabwe’s sole lithium sulphate plant, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, currently has no capacity to process minerals from other producers, an official has said ahead of a concentrate export ban next year.
Africa’s top lithium producer will implement the ban from January to push miners to process more of the battery metal domestically, generating higher-value export earnings and creating more jobs in its economy.
to build processing capacity, but the government has told them to send their concentrates to
While a number of plants are under construction in the country, so far only one has been completed , and its operator, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, says it has no capacity for third-party material.
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