Zimbabwe Plots Mineral Beneficiation at Mapinga Industrial Park
On 10 April 2024, the Zimbabwean Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Jenfan Muswere, provided an official update on the Mapinga Industrial Park, specializing in Local Value Addition (#LVA) of minerals. The designated site is located near the Great Dyke in the town of Mapinga in Mashonaland West Province.
The earmarked area for the site is about 30 square kilometers and can be extended further to 50 square kilometers. Eagle Canyon is the main promoter behind the project. Groundbreaking is scheduled for June 2024, and the first plant is expected to become operational by the end of 2025.
The initial phase consists of a lithium salt plant, a nickel-chromium alloy smelter, and a nickel sulphate plant. Being energy-intensive, mineral processing will require substantial energy input; thus, two power stations with a total capacity of 600 MW are integrated into the plan.
| NO. | PLANT | FDI USD M |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nickel Sulphate | 1000 |
| 2 | Nickel-Chromium Alloy | 500 |
| 3 | Lithium Salt | 450 |
| 4 | First 300 MW Power Plant | 300 |
| 5 | Second 300 MW Power Plant | 300 |
| TOTAL | 2550 |
The setting up of the Industrial Park follows the approval of the Cabinet of the Lithium Ore Policy, which aims to bolster local beneficiation, extract more local benefits from Zimbabwe’s rich mineral reserves, and control the illegal and underreported export of lithium ores and other valuable minerals.
#Lithium is now known as ‘White Gold’ since it is one of the #CriticalMinerals which are indispensable for the production of batteries for #EV, which is a prime emitter of carbon. Lithium is also used in energy storage systems (#ESS) of renewable power plants.