Last week, Base Minerals Export Control (UnProcessed Lithium Ores) Order 2022. Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022, Base Minerals Export Control 2022, published in the Zimbabwe Gazette The (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order] states that "lithium bearing ore or any unprocessed lithium ore shall not be exported from Zimbabwe to any other country except with the written permission of the Minister of Mines."
In addition, "Any party wishing to export lithium bearing ore or unprocessed lithium samples for testing outside Zimbabwe shall apply in writing; Or provide written proof to the lithium miner or lithium exporter, with the Minister's consent, that the relevant export is reasonable and that the relevant lithium ore or raw lithium ore has been valued in accordance with the provisions of the Value-added Tax Act [Cap 23:12] for the purpose of paying the export duty on the raw lithium ore."
"... Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the above order commits an offence and is liable to a fine not exceeding Class 9 or twice the value of the essential minerals committed, whichever is the greater; Or be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years; Or both a fine and imprisonment."
Zimbabwe's current president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has previously said the ban would target large numbers of individual miners who are lured by the high price of lithium to move into abandoned mines to extract lithium-bearing rocks and export them through neighboring countries, Reuters reported.
According to theexchange.africa, the policy will also help Zimbabwe attract investment from lithium processing companies, which will enable the government to gain additional benefits from lithium processing and battery manufacturing.
Zimbabwe is known to have Africa's largest lithium deposits, which are of the hard rock type. The Bikita mine is the largest lithium mine in the country. Located 308 km south of the capital Harare, it is the only active mine in Africa.
According to the latest IRES resource estimate report, the Bikita lithium deposit contains 29.41,400 tons of ore with an average lithium oxide grade of 1.17% and lithium oxide metal content of 34400 tons, equivalent to 849,600 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. In addition, several unverified LcT-type (Li-cesium-tantalum type) pegmatite bodies are still developed in the Bikita area, which has the potential to further expand the reserves of Li-cesium-tantalum mineral resources.
Other lithium deposits in the country include Goromonzi, Mberengwa, Shurugwi, Zvishavane and Mutoko.
Minerals exports account for about 60 percent of Zimbabwe's export earnings, while mining accounts for 16 percent of its GDP, according to the 2021 Mining report published by the London School of Economics.
The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines (CoMZ) and the Miners' Federation of Zimbabwe (ZMF) told theexchange.africa that a total ban on the export of raw lithium ore would push the country's mining industry in the right direction towards "green" development.
Henrietta Rushwaya, president of the Federation of Miners of Zimbabwe, told the Daily News that the country's lithium mining industry had lost about $1 billion in government revenue due to theft, which directly affected the country's target of $12 billion in output by 2023.
"As a resource country, we don't realize the true value of the resources we have." "We want companies to be part of the process that will create jobs for local Zimbabweans and enable us to reach our target of a $12 billion mining economy," she said.
"If we continue to export raw lithium ore, we will get nowhere. We want to see the lithium battery industry developed in our country, "said Polite Kambamura, deputy mining minister." We are doing this purely out of sincerity to want the industry to grow."
The purchased lithium ore is processed locally, and Chinese mining companies are not affected for the time being
Over the past year, Chinese mining giants Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., LTD. (" Huayou Cobalt "), China Minerals Resources Group Co., LTD. (" Zhongminerals Resources ") and Shengxin Lithium Energy Group Co., LTD. (" Shengxin Lithium Energy ") have collectively spent about $679 million to acquire lithium mining projects in Zimbabwe, These projects are currently in various stages of development and processing.
"The new policy is aimed at private mining of raw lithium ore and has no impact on the normal production of companies that already have lithium concentrate capacity," China Minerals Resources told Thepaper.cn. "All production lines at the Bikita mine are legal and compliant, and various procedures including environmental assessment are in place."
It is understood that in January this year, China Minerals Resources launched the acquisition of Zimbabwe's Bikita lithium mine project. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hong Kong China Minerals Rare, entered into a Share and Debt Sale Agreement with AMMS and SAMM to acquire 100 percent of Afminand 100 percent of AmZIMat held by AMMS and SAMM at a benchmark consideration of US $180 million (approximately equivalent to RMB 1.22 billion) in cash.
Afmin and Amzim together hold a 74 per cent interest in Bikita, whose main asset is the Bikita lithium mine. In July, the equity settlement was completed. In June this year, China Minerals Resources invested US $200 million to start the renovation and expansion of the 1.2 million ton/year concentrator and the construction of a new 2 million ton/year concentrator at the Bikita Mine.
According to China Mineral Resources, the 1.2 million ton/year concentrator expansion project is expected to be completed early next year, and the 2 million ton/year new concentrator construction project is expected to be completed in June next year. Once completed, the two projects will produce 300,000 tons of spodumene concentrate (5.5% Li2O), 90,000 tons of lepidolite concentrate (2.5% Li2O), and 0.03,000 tons of tantalum concentrate annually.
"We plan to ship 60,000-70,000 tons of lithium concentrate back to China this year. As of November, tens of thousands of tons of lithium concentrate have arrived at Ningbo Port for the company's domestic lithium salt production." China mineral resources said.
Other Chinese companies with lithium projects in Zimbabwe include Shengxin Lithium Energy and Huayou Cobalt. In November 2021, Shengyi International, a subsidiary company of Shengxin Lithium Energy, acquired 51 percent of Max Mind Hong Kong at the price of $76.5 million. Max Mind Hong Kong has the mineral rights for 40 rare metal blocks at the Sabi Star Lithium Mine in Buhera, Zimbabwe, with a total area of 2,637 ha. At present, 5 mining rights blocks (an area of 116 hectares) have been explored for resources.
Not long ago on December 14, Sheng Xin Lithium Energy held a ground-breaking ceremony for the Sabixing lithium tantalum mine project in Buhera, Maniciland Province, Zimbabwe. The project is initially planned to produce about 300,000 tons of lithium concentrate per year.
For its part, Huayou Cobalt in April bought 100 percent of Australia's Prospect Lithium through its subsidiary Huayou International Mining for $422 million, giving it a 100 percent interest in the Arcadia mine in Zimbabwe.
According to the optimization feasibility study report published by Prospect Lithium in December 2021, the Arcadia lithium mine project can initially reach a one-time ore treatment capacity of 2.4 million tons per year, with a construction period of two years, a production life of 18 years, and open pit mining. Through the process of gravity separation and flotation, the annual output of spodumene concentrate is 147,000 tons, technical grade spodumene concentrate is 94,000 tons, chemical grade spodumene concentrate is 24,000 tons, and tantalum concentrate is 0.3 tons.
Arcadia mining has now entered the pilot stage of the product and has sent pilot samples to customers, according to the company's announcement.
