Zimbabwe Anticipates Lithium Prices To Justify 270 Million Project

Zimbabwes state-owned Kuvimba Mining House expects to finalise this month a deal agreed upon with two Chinese companies as it sticks with its 270 million lithium projec t on the basis that lithium prices will recover.

Analysts expect robust sales of electric vehicles EV in China and the mothballing of some mines will this year stabilise lithium prices. They have fallen by more than 80 since their November 2022 peak due to oversupply and slower-than-expected EV sales growth.

CEO Trevor Barnard said Kuvimba expects prices to recover more strongly next year, although they were unlikely to reach the record levels seen in 2022.

That was obviously a bubble driven by huge demand forecasts and huge positive sentiment around lithium, he said of the 2022 prices.

Zimbabwe, Africas biggest producer of lithium, has attracted more than 1 billion of investment in lithium projects since 2021, mostly from Chinese battery metal companies, company filings show.