Zimbabwe lithium factory completed by Premier African Mines, production imminent

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Premier African Minerals expects to begin production of spodumene concentrate this week at its Zulu mine in Zimbabwe. It has just finished building a lithium processing facility.

Spodumene is a kind of ore with a high concentration of lithium that is used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles.

Premier erected a facility with an annual output capacity of almost 50,000 tons of spodumene concentrate. It is part of a $35 million offtake deal inked with China’s CanMax Technologies last year.

Premier’s chief executive officer, George Roach, stated in a statement, “We anticipate producing spodumene, a lepidolite mica-rich concentrate. A tantalum-rich concentrate by the end of this week, assuming that all final official clearances are obtained from the appropriate Zimbabwean authorities.”

Many Chinese businesses, including CanMax, which purchased 13.38% of Premier last year. Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine Resource Company, and Chengxin Lithium Group have spent around $700 million in Zimbabwe. This is owing to the country’s abundant hard-rock lithium potential.

On March 22, Huayou stated that its Arcadia lithium project would begin pilot production. The location is 40 kilometers (24.85 miles) from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. The Arcadia facility, which Huayou estimates will cost $300 million, is capable of processing 4.5 million tons of lithium ore per year and producing 50,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent lithium concentrate.

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