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On September 18, a delegation led by Fred Moyo, Deputy Minister of Mines of Zimbabwe, visited Sinomine Resource (Jiangxi) Lithium Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sinomine Lithium”). The two sides held in-depth technical discussions on lithium salt refining technology innovation, value chain expansion, lithium slag treatment, environmental protection, and intelligent manufacturing. The delegation also toured the company’s battery-grade lithium salt production facility. Gong Xuedong, Assistant to the President of Sinomine Resource Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Sinomine Resource”) and General Manager of Bikita Mineral Pvt Ltd. in Zimbabwe, Zheng Guozhong, General Manager of Sinomine Lithium, and heads of relevant departments at Sinomine Lithium warmly welcomed and accompanied the delegation.
The delegation first visited Sinomine Lithium’s battery-grade lithium salt production workshops. During the tour, company representatives introduced Sinomine Lithium’s development history, industrial footprint, and the strategic advantages of its integrated “resources–refining–processing” model. As the first company in China to develop a petalite-based lithium extraction process and successfully commercialize it, Sinomine Lithium holds more than ten authorized invention and utility model patents. Leveraging high-quality lithium resources from Sinomine Resource’s Bikita mine in Zimbabwe and Tanco mine in Canada, the company has established coordinated, precision production processes for both spodumene and petalite, maintaining industry-leading product stability and consistency.
At the technical exchange meeting that followed, Zheng Guozhong presented the company’s latest technological achievements in lithium salt refining, with a particular focus on its 30,000-tonne-per-year high-purity lithium salt technical upgrading project. The project is not simply an expansion of production capacity, but a systematic industrial upgrade designed to increase lithium recovery rates through technological improvements and effectively reduce lithium salt production costs. Its principal products are battery-grade lithium carbonate and battery-grade lithium hydroxide, with production capacity for the two products adjustable in response to market demand. Once the upgrading project is commissioned, Sinomine Resource’s total battery-grade lithium salt production capacity will reach 71,000 tonnes per year, further strengthening the overall competitiveness of its lithium salt business.
The delegation spoke highly of Sinomine Lithium’s technological innovations in petalite-based lithium extraction and the coordinated production of spodumene and petalite. Delegation members also held in-depth discussions with the company’s technical team on the green and efficient utilization of lithium resources and the transformation and upgrading of intelligent manufacturing.
The visit represents another important interaction between the two sides under the framework of China–Zimbabwe mining cooperation, following Sinomine Resource Vice President Wang Zhiwei’s meeting in Beijing with a delegation led by Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. It demonstrates the Zimbabwean side’s recognition of Sinomine Resource’s technological capabilities across the lithium battery value chain and further strengthens the foundation of mutual trust and cooperation.
As an important domestic lithium salt refining base of Sinomine Resource, Sinomine Lithium plays a key role in the deep processing of high-quality lithium resources. Sinomine Resource is currently advancing construction of its 100,000-tonne-per-year lithium sulfate project in Zimbabwe at full pace. Planned as the largest lithium salt plant among African countries, the project is expected to extend Zimbabwe’s lithium industry beyond resource extraction into materials manufacturing, helping translate the country’s resource advantages into industrial and economic strengths.
Looking ahead, Sinomine Lithium will continue to leverage Sinomine Resource’s global resource base and technological innovation capabilities, striving to become a world-class lithium salt producer and contribute further to practical cooperation between China and Zimbabwe in new energy and mineral resources.
