Zimbabwe Plots Minerals Beneficiation Industrial Park
On 10 April 2024, the Zimbabwean Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, publicized and outlined plans to build an Industrial Park specializing in Local Value Addition (#LVA) of and beneficiation of minerals. The designated site is located along the Great Dyke in Mapinga area of Zvimba and construction are expected to start in June 2024.
The earmarked area for the site is about 30 square kilometers and can be extended further to 50 square kilometers. Eagle International is the main promoter behind the project. The first plant is expected to be completed and will become operational in 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 and thus, two power stations with a total of 600 MW capacity are integrated into the plan.
The estimated #FDI for each component is as follows:
| NO. | PLANT | INVESTMENT 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 Mining Beneficiation Industrial Park follows the approval of the Cabinet of the Lithium Ore Policy which aims to promote LVA, extract benefits from the Zimbabwe’s rich mineral reserves and to 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 necessary for the storage systems of renewable energy plants.