“Good news for China and Africa”
According to a report on the website of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post on May 3, in northwest Zimbabwe, the newly built lithium ore processing facilities built by Chinese companies have quickly revived the local mining area that had been abandoned for about 30 years. The Kamatiwe lithium mine in Matabeleland North Province will be mined and processed in stages. The first phase of the project has been completed and put into operation, and the second phase is expected to be put into operation in June. Spodumene is a lithium-rich ore that can be processed to extract materials used in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various products including electric vehicles. China is continuing its efforts to secure stable supplies of lithium, including in Africa, as lithium producers such as Australia develop their own plans for critical minerals, according to S&P Global Commodities. Analysts say these new lithium processing plants in Zimbabwe - and other upcoming plants in Mali, Ethiopia, Congo and Namibia - driven by Chinese companies, will increase African ore lithium production in 2024 compared with 2023. About twice as much. The Kamativi lithium mine is a joint venture between a company owned by China's Yahua Group and local partner Deford Mining Company. A person in charge of Yahua Group said: “Relying on Zimbabwe’s abundant lithium resources and Yahua Group’s historical heritage in hard rock lithium mining, we are full of expectations and confidence in further increasing investment in Zimbabwe’s mining industry. "The opening of the new lithium supply chain is good news for China and also good news for relevant African countries. London-based Benchmark Mining Intelligence predicts that African lithium mines will produce 111,000 tons of lithium ore in 2024, an increase of 201% from a relatively small base in 2023. Claudia Cook, an analyst at Benchmark Mining Intelligence, said: “China has most of the world’s refining capacity. As well as having the expertise and capital, it has the supply chain to tap into Africa’s lithium resources, which makes it stand out ”
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