Zimpapers Logo

Victor Maphosa-Mashonaland East Bureau

The lithium processing plant built by Rwizi Rukuru about 4km from Mutoko centre is now complete, with the Chinese company now conducting a test run to pave way for full-throttle production at Mashonaland East’s third lithium processing plant.

When production starts, the plant is expected to produce 300 tonnes of spodumene and lepidolite concentrate a day.

Spodumene is an important lithium mineral commonly used in the production of ceramics, tiles and glass while Lepidolite is an important source of lithium and is mainly used as a source of the element in rechargeable batteries, mobile phones and aircraft parts.

Speaking in Mutoko recently, Rwizi Rukuru’s general manager Ms Priviledge Mubaira, said they will start production soon.

“Rwizi Rukuru processing plant is a Chinese-owned company and construction is complete. We have not started production but we are doing a test run to see if we can obtain the prescribed quantities of spodumene and lepidolite. We are expecting to produce 300 tonnes of these per day.

“We employed a lot of people during the construction stage and most of them are locals from Mutoko. As we did the test run, we also employed others including drivers, the security and for the general labour,” she said. The company was happy to be contributing to the creation of employment and economic development of the nation.

“Through this investment, we are also promoting tourism because a lot of foreigners are visiting the country and also the Mutoko district. We are also creating jobs for a lot of people especially the locals so we are happy about it. We are also into corporate social responsibility initiatives and we have been involved in road rehabilitation, dam repairing as well as making donations for national events.

 “We also avail our trucks to carry material during the construction of several school blocks. Our focus is now on borehole drilling and resuscitation of some of these boreholes because Mutoko has a water challenge. So we want to ensure there is potable water for everyone. We also want to be able to assist as many people as we can,” she said.

Mashonaland East province has several lithium processing plants and is home to the largest lithium processing plant, that of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe based in Goromonzi district. There is another large lithium processing plant, Shengxiang Investments (Pvt) Limited, again in Goromonzi district and now Rwizi Rukuru in Mutoko.