Lithium production starts at Arcadia Lithium Mine

Chinese mining firm, Huayou Cobalt, has started trial production at the Arcadia Lithium Mine, located in Goromonzi.

The mine is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate once fully operational, with the start of trial production commencing after 300 days, using approximately 3,000 workers.

“All production lines of the Huayou Cobalt’s Arcadia lithium mine project have completed equipment installation and commissioning, and trial production has commenced, successfully producing the first batch of products,” stated Huayou Cobalt.

This follows the successful equipment installation and commissioning of the mine, a major milestone for the project, which has been in development since construction began on 16 May 2022.

When fully operational, the Arcadia Lithium mine is expected to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year, which would make it one of the largest lithium mines in Africa.

Huayou, one of the world’s biggest cobalt producers, acquired Arcadia from Australia-listed Prospect Resources and its Zimbabwean partners in a US$422 million deal completed in 2022.

After the transaction, Huayou said it would spend US$300 million to build a plant to process 4.5 million tonnes of lithium ore at Arcadia.

Although critical for Zimbabwe’s economic growth, the Arcadia Lithium Mine project is a strategic project for Huayou Cobalt consistent with its “14th Five-Year Plan” period.

“The successful construction and trial production of the project meet Huayou’s strategic planning expectations and mark a milestone in its lithium resource development process.

“After multiple tests, all project participants are striving for excellence advancement and quality improvement, and have welcomed this milestone achievement of the project’s full production,” announced Huayou Cobalt in a statement.

Lithium is among the minerals expected to contribute to Zimbabwe’s target to grow the mining sector to US$12 billion in 2023.

Zimbabwe holds some of the largest mineral resources on the continent and the Arcadia Lithium Mine project is Huayou Cobalt’s largest single investment project in Africa, having been approved by the authorities in February 2022.

Zimbabwe is the world’s fifth largest lithium producer whose lithium output has increased steadily in recent years, producing 1 200 metric tonnes of the battery metal in 2021.

-ebusinessweekly