Staff reporter

The country is set to harvest a number of economic benefits from the anticipated establishment of a lithium processing plant in Mutoko.

Following the export ban of raw lithium, Government has partnered with Chinese billionaire, Pei Zhenhua and a South African company to establish a multi-million dollar lithium processing plant in Mutoko.

A Government source, who declined to be named, said that the lithium processing plant would be capable of producing approximately two million tonnes of lithium concentrate per year.

“The country is set to benefit immensely from the establishment of a lithium processing plant in Mutoko. Besides job creation, the processing of lithium will help turn around the economic fortunes of the country because the demand for lithium has risen across the country,” said the source.

The same source added that Zimbabwe has Africa’s largest lithium deposits which would help in the realization of President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 of an Upper Middle Income Economy.

Speaking to this publication, economic analyst Thomas Ndlovu said that the idea of prohibition of raw exports especially in the mining sector would promote industrialization and create value for Zimbabwe so that it can cash in on value addition and stop losing billions of dollars in mineral proceeds to foreign companies.

In 2015, it was estimated that Zimbabwe lost $12 billion through illegal trade, while western companies have been accused of exploiting Africa’s lithium mines and leaving countries poorer only to come back and sell them processed minerals in the form of smartphones and car batteries.

Lithium, a critical mineral that will underpin the world’s green energy transition, has taken off in the past two years, with prices surging to record high as supply has struggled to keep pace with unrestrained global demand.

According to Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Group, half of all cars sold globally could be electric by 2030, way up from 9% in 2021. As a result, mining companies have been combing the world for opportunities to bring on new supplies, particularly companies based in China, a country which today controls the global lithium supply chain.