Story by Josephine Mugiyo
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa says the Second Republic is making use of new technologies in the mining sector, opening up new opportunities that advance the country’s economic growth.
This Friday saw President Mnangagwa commissioning the new Kamativi lithium mine and processing plant, three decades after
the former tin mine collapsed.
President Mnangagwa noted the partnership between Chinese investors and the government as reflective of the Second Republic’s determination to use the country’s resources for development.
“This is evidence of how the Second Republic is progressing economically. This asset has always been there, but under the Second Republic, we have now accessed technology to exploit. I’m very pleased with this cooperation with our Chinese friends,” he said.
President Mnangagwa explained that the country is set to benefit more from the lithium mine than it did from the tin mine given that the government now has control of the resources.
He added, “Many years back it was not benefiting our country the way it is now because now it’s benefiting us in a way that we determine ourselves.”
The first phase of the lithium project saw an investment of US$100 million. The lithium concentrate plant is capable of processing 300 000 tonnes of raw spodumene ore into 50 000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum translating into an estimated US$50 million in revenue per year. Spodumene is an ore which contains lithium.
The Kamativi Mining Company is now in the final stages of completing the phase two floatation plant which will have a capacity to process 2 million tonnes of raw ore per annum. The expansion into phase two will increase the mine’s revenue to about US$300 million per annum.
Surrounding communities received a lifeline from the re-opening of the mine as over 1000 people are already employed.
