Zimbabwe partners with Chinese firms for construction of landmark $270m lithium plant

Zimbabwe’s state-owned Kuvimba Mining House is set to begin construction of a $270 million lithium concentrator at its Sandawana mine in the third quarter of 2025.

According to CEO Trevor Barnard, the commissioning is targeted for early 2027.

The project, designed to process 600,000 metric tons of lithium ore annually, will be developed in partnership with two major Chinese metals companies, Reuters reported.

Under the agreement, the Chinese partners will build and operate the plant for at least five years before handing it over to Kuvimba. Barnard declined to disclose the names of the firms, citing ongoing negotiations.

“We are still finalising the last few agreements that we need to put in place and making sure we have all the necessary and compatible industry conditions for our partner to start construction,” Barnard said.

“We are looking at breaking ground in the third quarter,” he added.

Barnard noted that the planned completion of the $270 million Sandawana lithium concentrator could align with a rebound in lithium prices.

Although spot prices have since plunged by nearly 90% due to oversupply and weaker-than-expected EV demand, Chinese companies continue to invest heavily in Zimbabwe’s lithium sector to secure feedstock for their domestic refineries.

According to data from CRU Group, Zimbabwe accounted for roughly 14% of China’s lithium imports last year.

Analysts suggest that the current price slump may not last. Recent production cuts, paired with a rebound in EV sales in China, are expected to tighten the market, with lithium demand potentially outpacing supply by the end of the year.

“Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentration plant to be in production,” Barnard said.

Last month, Zimbabwe, Africa’s leading lithium producer, announced plans to ban the export of lithium concentrates starting January 2027, as part of a broader strategy to boost local value addition in the mining sector.

For years, Chinese firms operating in Zimbabwe have exported lithium concentrates to China for refining, bypassing local processing.

As part of its industrialisation drive, Zimbabwe revealed that two lithium sulphate processing plants are currently under development.

One is at Bikita Minerals, owned by China’s Sinomine Resource Group, and the other at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, operated by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt.

Interest in lithium is surging across Africa. Countries like Namibia, Mali, Ghana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are ramping up exploration and mining efforts.