Story by Fungai Jachi
VICE President General (Rtd) Dr Constantino Chiwenga visited Bikita Minerals, one of the country’s largest lithium mining companies, where he gained insight into operations at the mine.
Dr Chiwenga commended the progress made by the company but emphasised the need to focus on downstream processing.
“I am happy that every time I come here, there will be some improvements, but what they need to focus on now is value addition and beneficiation, which is critical as we create industries and improve our economy,” he said.
Bikita Minerals has plans to establish a smelter for further lithium concentrate beneficiation.
“In the next two years, we will have completed the value addition plant and we are going to continue investing so that the country benefits from lithium,” Bikita Minerals’ Managing Director, Mr Gong Xeudong noted.
Bikita Minerals invested over US$200 million, which has propelled the construction of new plants, significantly boosting production capacity.
The gravity separation plant is expected to produce 300 000 tonnes of petalite annually, while the flotation plant is expected to produce 270 000 tonnes of high-quality chemical-grade spodumene concentrate annually.
The Second Republic is focusing on value addition and beneficiation to ensure the country benefits more from its natural resources.
