“This notice serves to inform our stakeholders and partners
that we have put our operations on hold for 7 days to address
administrative concerns raised by authorities at our plant,”
Bikita Minerals said in a statement.
The company did not specify what the concerns were, but
said it was working closely with all relevant authorities to
ensure that the matter is resolved.
"As a law-abiding corporate, we remain committed to fully
complying with all requirements of the law and expect to resume
operations once all the outstanding issues have been addressed,"
Bikita Minerals added.
Zimbabwe's mines ministry was not immediately available to
comment.
The southern African country hopes its large deposits of
lithium will help position itself for an economic boost from the
global drive towards battery-powered energy.
The Chinese miner has invested a further $200 million to
expand existing operations at Bikita, including the construction
of two lithium processing plants to produce 250,000 tonnes of
spodumene concentrate and 480,000 tonnes of petalite per year.
Spodumene is another key battery mineral, and petalite is a
lithium mineral used in the glass and ceramic industries.
The two plants are scheduled to be commissioned by July this year. Bikita Minerals employs 860 workers. Zimbabwe holds some of the largest hard rock lithium deposits in the world, and has recently drawn investment exceeding $700 million from Chinese firms, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Chengxin Lithium Group . (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
