By Chris Muronzi
Kuvimba Mining House will develop its Darwendale platinum project as an open pit rather than the previously planned underground mine, CEO Trevor Barnard said, speeding up the delayed venture as platinum prices rise.
The project was initially designed as an underground mine that would cost about US$450 million in the first phase and become Zimbabwe’s biggest mining venture. It was thrown into jeopardy in 2022 when Kuvimba’s Russian joint venture partner withdrew and prices of the platinum group metals, mostly used to curb vehicle emissions, collapsed.
Barnard says Kuvimba had shifted from its “big bang approach” and would start with an open pit at an initial cost of $50 million. “That is quite a change in scope and phasing,” Barnard said. “It’s very difficult to raise $450 million specifically for a platinum project and in Zimbabwe.”
Instead, funds would be sourced from parent company, Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund Mutapa, internally generated cash and a “bit of debt,” he added. The diversified mining company also has three operational gold mines that produced 116,000 ounces in 2024.
Analysts say rising platinum prices, driven by a surge in Chinese imports and a drop in supply from major producer South Africa, could more generally stimulate projects halted during the price trough. Platinum prices rose 36% during the second quarter. In June alone, prices jumped 28% as hedge funds and speculative traders piled in, notching their strongest month since 1986 and hitting an 11-year high of $1,432.6 an ounce.
Tharisa, which delayed its $391 million Karo PGM project in Zimbabwe due to low metal prices, said on July 9 it was working “to accelerate the final development” of the mine, as improving commodity prices boosted its balance sheet.
Sandawana: Back on the table
Kuvimba also plans to begin the construction of a $270 million lithium concentration plant at its Sandawana mine in the third quarter of this year, with commissioning expected in early 2027.
The miner is partnering with two Chinese metals giants to build the 600,000 metric ton per year lithium concentrator. The two firms will build and operate the plant for a minimum of five years, before transferring it back to Kuvimba.
“We are still finalising the last few agreements that we need to put in place and making sure we have all the necessary and compatible industry conditions for our partner to start construction,” Barnard told reporters. “We are looking at breaking ground in the third quarter,” he added.
Kuvimba, which has been stockpiling lithium ore at Sandawana, has been hauling some of it to a processing plant in Gwanda, owned by Chinese nickel and steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group.
Barnard said the targeted completion of the Sandawana lithium concentrator could coincide with a recovery in the price of the battery metal.
A supply glut mainly driven by Chinese output has caused lithium prices to plunge nearly 90% over the past two years, forcing miners to halt projects and cut jobs. However, analysts say those production cuts and robust electric vehicle sales in China could propel lithium demand above supply this year. “Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentration plant to be in production,” Barnard said.
Reuters
