LOHUM has started mining lithium in Zimbabwe and is targeting annual production of about 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate within the next two to three years, as the Indian critical-minerals company builds a supply chain linking overseas mining with refining and advanced-materials manufacturing in India.
The company said it has made its first dispatch of ore from Zimbabwe, following the commencement of drilling, blasting and excavation activities across 10 spodumene-bearing mining blocks. The assets cover approximately 1,100 hectares. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Rajat Verma told Business Standard that the first ore was expected to emerge shortly after mining operations began.
LOHUM said the Zimbabwe operation is its first mining asset outside India. The company has previously worked with mines in several countries by processing concentrates produced by those operations, but the Zimbabwe acquisition marks its first direct ownership of overseas mining assets.
The company plans to conduct mining and initial processing in Zimbabwe before sending the material to India for conversion into lithium carbonate. Verma said LOHUM is setting up a new lithium refinery in India for the Zimbabwe material, although the location of the facility has not been announced.
The planned integrated chain is expected to include the conversion of mined material into crude lithium sulphate and then into refined lithium carbonate. “The capacity that we are setting up everywhere as to how much are we mining, how much are we converting into crude lithium sulfate and how much are we ultimately converting into pure lithium carbonate is about 30,000 tons per year,” Verma said, according to Business Standard.
LOHUM also plans to expand downstream into cathode active material manufacturing. Verma said the facility could make the company an internal customer for its lithium carbonate before the material is supplied to cell manufacturers. The company already has customers in India and overseas for lithium carbonate and is in discussions with additional domestic companies, he said.
The initial 10 blocks are expected by the company to support production of approximately 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over the life of the assets. LOHUM has estimated the in-situ value of the deposits at about $7 billion at prevailing lithium carbonate prices. These figures are company estimates and relate to the reported resource potential of the acquired blocks.
LOHUM said it also holds preferred rights over an additional 90 blocks in Zimbabwe. Those rights would give the company a first-refusal opportunity before the blocks are offered to other buyers, according to Verma.
The Zimbabwe investment forms part of LOHUM’s strategy of acquiring critical-mineral assets overseas that can be brought into production relatively quickly. Verma said the company evaluates overseas opportunities against three criteria: acquiring assets at the right price, starting production quickly and creating value locally.
He said LOHUM is focusing on assets that can generate throughput within one to two years rather than projects requiring a decade or more to develop. The company is also examining opportunities in other critical minerals, including nickel and nickel-copper ores.
The company’s next steps are to expand mining and initial processing in Zimbabwe, establish the planned Indian refinery and develop its downstream cathode-material capacity. LOHUM has not yet disclosed the Indian refinery’s location or a detailed commissioning schedule.
