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Oliver Kazunga, Acting Business Editor

ZIMBABWE Lithium Company is set to begin operations at Kamativi Tin Mine after the High Court last month ruled in favour of the firm over mining rights at the mine’s tailings dumpsite.

In 2018, the lithium producer was involved in a legal battle over mining rights at the tailings dumpsite with a Chinese firm, Beijing Pinchang, and this delayed activity to reopen the mine.

Zimbabwe Lithium Company through its wholly owned subsidiary, Jimbata, had targeted to resume production at the mine last year. 

In an interview yesterday, Jimbata managing director Mr John McTaggart said following the conclusion of the court case with Beijing Pinchang recently, his company was ready to resuscitate operations at Kamativi where 250 people are expected to be employed under the first phase of the project.

“We’re almost ready to start importing the plant and equipment for the pilot plant and we will do due diligence at the site. It will take a week or so before equipment starts arriving in the country. We’ve been delayed by this case with the Chinese which only went before the court on the 23rd of January and the court (High Court) ruled in our favour,” said Mr McTaggart. 

He said the lithium mining firm’s pilot plant was on its way from Johannesburg, South Africa, and the main plant will be put up at the mine between June and July this year.

Mr McTaggart said before operations start, the company will rehabilitate the road network at the mine as well as upgrade power infrastructure.

“There is a whole lot of work that we have to do. We have to work on the houses, roads, water and power infrastructure. We have to also get all the necesary permits from the Environmental Management Agency,” said Mr McTaggart.

In March 2018, Jimbata undertook an evaluation exercise that entailed drilling holes to depths of 1 500 metres as well as sampling to determine the lithium resource in the tailings dumps at the disused mine.

The results were then used for production of the NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate for the Kamativi Tailings Project.

In line with the Government’s call for beneficiation of mineral resources, Jimbata is also looking at beneficiating spodumene to lithium carbonate.

Kamativi Mine which was wholly owned by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), was closed in 1994 due to the depressed international prices of tin.

ZMDC has since partnered Jimbata to revive operations at the mine and focus is on producing lithium. 

 Government has said up to seven minerals can be extracted at Kamativi after geologists confirmed a rich mix of deposits.

Lithium production is fast emerging as a potential game changer for Zimbabwe’s mining industry and economy at large as foreign investors have shown commitment towards the exploitation of the mineral.

Zimbabwe is endowed with vast lithium deposits but production is still lagging behind other global producers of the mineral, with only one company Bikita Resources, presently producing while a similar mining project, Arcadia Lithium project is being developed by Prospect Resources in Goromonzi. – @okazunga