The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE 2023 Annual Mining Conference has kicked off here in Victoria Falls with calls for collaboration and unity within the lithium and battery minerals value chain being amplified.
The conference which is hosted by the Chamber of Mines is being held under the theme: Creating Growth Enablers for Mining Industry.
Kickstarting the program was the Lithium and Battery Minerals Value Chain Symposium which saw delegates cross pollinating ideas on how they can unleash the growth potential of the battery minerals value chain.
Speaking during the symposium, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Winston Chitando implored on lithium mining players to work together inorder to add value to the mineral.
“We implore all stakeholders to work together to ensure sustainable growth of the country’s mining sector. Zimbabwe’s lithium subsector is on its growth path and the country seeks to take its position in the world lithium and battery minerals global value chains.
“Battery minerals are becoming increasingly important for the worldwide energy transition and projections for their global value show a considerable market growth up to 2027. The demand for battery minerals has thus surged considerably in recent years due to this massive transition to green energy use, production of electric vehicles, energy storage units and mobile phones. Lithium will therefore be the in-demand mineral for a considerable period of time,” said Minister Chitando.
Battery minerals are a collection of metals and minerals used to produce the main components of batteries. These minerals include lithium, vanadium, nickel, manganese cobalt and graphite depending on the battery composition.
Minister Chitando said though there were plans to value add by individuals, lithium players could take a leaf from platinum players who a few years ago came together to ensure value addition in the platinum sector.
“Some individuals have submitted plans to get up to battery stage. However, Government wants to see lithium miners moving the whole value chain collectively
“A few years ago platinum players came together and proposed how they could collectively add value to the mineral. You can also take a leaf from them,” said Minister Chitando.
The symposium also saw various lithium players giving an overview on the Zimbabwe lithium industry project. These included Bikita minerals, Zulu lithium, Sabi star, Arcadia Mine and Kamativi.
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