PREMIER Africa Minerals general manager, Mr Jabulani Chirasha, has assured investors in the lithium mining business that recent regulatory changes in lithium ore will not impact production.
The firm is aiming at starting production in the first quarter of the year.
Speaking to our Bulawayo Bureau yesterday at the plant site, Mr Chirasha said: “We haven’t started mining, we are busy building up the plant. What it says is that we know the value of beneficiation.
“People are selling ore for US$200 per tonne. A tonne of spodumene is in the range of US$6 000 to US$8 000. We are still on target to get out ore in the first quarter of this year.”
Government recently enacted additional regulations aimed at curbing the rampant export of various high-value minerals in raw form, buttressing calls for enhanced domestic value addition in the mining sector.
A new Statutory Instrument on base minerals export control (Unbeneficiated Base Mineral Ore) order 2023, was gazetted last week and outlines the new measures that came into force with immediate effect.
The latest regulation also repealed the Base Minerals Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022, published in Statutory Instrument 213 of 2022.
However, the repeal does not affect the validity of anything done by the minister under the previous order.
“To avoid doubt, section 5 of the principal Act provides that ‘An order shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith in any other enactment or any trade or customs agreement to which the State is a party’, and Section 6 of the Principal Act provides that any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any order or with the terms and conditions of any permit issued to him or her under an order shall be guilty of an offence, and liable to a fine not exceeding level 9 or twice the value of the base minerals in respect of which the offence is committed,” it reads.
President Mnangagwa has always challenged the mining sector to enhance value addition to help end the country’s unsustainable reliance on primarily exporting raw minerals.
Zimbabwe is envisioning a US$12 billion mining industry by 2023, which is a key enabler of Vision 2030 of achieving an upper-middle-in-come economy by 2030.
Of the US$12 billion, gold, platinum, and diamonds will contribute US$4 billion, US$3 billion, and US$1 billion respectively.
Other minerals such as chrome, iron ore, and carbon steel will contribute US$1 billion while coal and hydrocarbons will do the same.
Lithium is expected to contribute US$500 000 while other minerals will add US$1,5 billion.
Giving an update on construction progress, Mr Chirasha said it was progressing well.
“On dam construction, water is already overflowing and the level where we are, we are getting 80 cubic litres per hour and we need probably 120 cubic litres for the plant.
“There is enough water for the project. Everything seems to be gelling now and I don’t now see us not making it in the first quarter to produce.
“We have already marked where we are mining the pit. From tomorrow (today) there will be dump trucks mining and in three weeks we will be blasting the ore. We are on target.”
The dam wall presently stands at 22 metres out of the planned 32 meters high.
Mr Chirasha said several trucks with high equipment are being cleared at the Beitbridge border post.
Our Bulawayo Bureau learnt that construction works are immensely benefiting other industries.
For instance, the plant uses 1 200 bags of cement and 44 000 litres of fuel per week. – The Herald
