Yahua breaks ground on lithium sulphate plant at Zimbabwe's Kamativi mine

Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group has begun construction of a lithium sulphate plant at the Kamativi mine in western Zimbabwe, making it the third Chinese-owned producer to commit to in-country chemical processing as the government turns the screws on raw concentrate exports.

Yahua disclosed the start of works in a reply to investors on an online platform run by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, according to Bloomberg News. Kamativi is operated as a joint venture between Yahua and the Zimbabwean state.

Timing is no accident

The announcement landed in the same week that Mines Minister Polite Kambamura suspended exports of lithium concentrate with immediate effect. A full ban had been flagged for the start of 2027, but the ministry brought the halt forward, saying export authorisations would in future go only to companies holding valid mining licences and approved processing capacity.

Yahua told investors it read the measures as being aimed chiefly at illegal exports, and said it expected permission to resume shipments within about two weeks. The mines ministry did not respond to requests for comment from Bloomberg.

Lithium sulphate is an intermediate chemical that refiners convert into battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate. Producing it locally captures a larger slice of value than shipping spodumene concentrate, which is the bulk of what Zimbabwe currently sells to China.

Smaller than its peers

Yahua is not alone. Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine Resource Group are building sulphate facilities at their Arcadia and Bikita mines respectively, and both operations are larger than Kamativi. Chinese capital has lifted Zimbabwe into the top tier of global producers: the country supplied almost 10% of the world's mined lithium last year, according to US Geological Survey figures cited by Bloomberg.

Miningmx noted that Harare's approach echoes a wider trend among resource-rich African states pushing for more refining at home, with the Democratic Republic of Congo having imposed tight controls on cobalt exports.

What it means

For Zimbabwe, a third sulphate plant strengthens the government's argument that its beneficiation policy is working rather than merely scaring off investors. For Yahua, the plant is effectively the price of continued access to the ore body: without approved processing capacity, the ministry has made clear that concentrate will not leave the country.

The open question is timing. Chemical plants take far longer to build than a halt on exports takes to announce, and miners need revenue in the meantime. Until Kamativi's plant is running, Yahua's cash flow from Zimbabwe will depend on how quickly, and on what terms, the ministry allows concentrate shipments to resume.

Sources

• MINING.COM (Bloomberg News): China's Yahua starts building lithium sulfate plant in Zimbabwe, 27 Feb 2026
• Miningmx: Zimbabwe pushes Chinese miners to process lithium locally, 27 Feb 2026

Photo: Cassiterite (tin ore) specimen from Kamativi in Zimbabwe, the former tin mine now producing lithium. Ra'ike (see also: de:Benutzer:Ra'ike), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.