BY CLYDE TINASHE DONDO
Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Winston Chitando, visited the Huayou Zimbabwe projects, commending their significant contributions to the country’s mining sector and ongoing progress towards Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030.
The minister toured two major sites, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), home to a mining and concentrates processing plant and Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe (ATZ), where a state-of-the-art lithium salt plant is currently under construction.
Henry Zhu, General Manager for the Huayou Zimbabwe Administration Center, accompanied Minister Chitando on the tour, providing insights into the company’s investment and operations.
Addressing the media and company officials, Minister Chitando praised Huayou Cobalt’s investments in both PLZ and ATZ as transformative for Zimbabwe’s lithium industry.
“The investment made by Huayou Cobalt in PLZ and ATZ represents a major step in reaching Zimbabwe’s vision 2030,” said Chitando.
Minister Chitando highlighted the government’s challenge, set forth by the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, to advance lithium beneficiation in the country.
“The investor (Huayou Zimbabwe) has done us proud after being challenged by the President of Zimbabwe to take a step further in processing lithium,” added Minister Chitando.
He went on to commend the impressive progress, noting that the investor (Huayou Zimbabwe) has done very good work that by the first quarter of 2026, Zimbabwe will be a lithium sulphate producer.
The minister also voiced his satisfaction with the construction timeline at ATZ, emphasizing its strategic importance ahead of the government’s 2027 ban on lithium concentrate exports.
“ATZ will be operational by the first quarter of 2026, ensuring Huayou is not affected by the 2027 government lithium concentrates ban and come 2027 no lithium concentrates will be leaving the country,” said Chitando.
The visit underscores the critical role of public-private partnerships in driving Zimbabwe’s mining sector forward, especially in value addition and beneficiation.
With the ATZ plant set to become operational and the PLZ facility already processing lithium concentrates, Zimbabwe is on track to become a key producer of lithium sulphate for global markets.
