Premier African Minerals Restarts Zulu Lithium Plant After Flotation Upgrade

Oscar J. Jeke | Zim Now Reporter

Premier African Minerals Limited has resumed operations at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum project following the successful installation of new flotation section inserts aimed at boosting lithium recovery and grade.

In a market update, the AIM-listed miner announced that the plant was restarted on July 6, 2025, after completing the installation of the spodumene float section inserts.

 These modifications are expected to shorten the retention time of concentrates in the cleaner section of the flotation circuit, thereby enhancing operational efficiency.

George Roach, CEO of Premier African Minerals, confirmed the restart, saying:
“Thanks to the outstanding support we’ve received from each of the OEM suppliers associated with all the plant components—from the mill to the final flotation—we were able to restart the plant late in the afternoon on 6 July 2025.”

He added that the facility had so far run with limited feed to test operational integration, and that full ore feed from the run-of-mine pad was scheduled to commence on July 7, once the final sealants on the new units had hardened.

“Commissioning and optimisation of the Primary Spodumene Flotation Plant will follow,” Roach stated, noting that preliminary results and further updates would be released once validation is completed.

This marks a significant step forward for Premier’s flagship Zulu project in Zimbabwe, as the company seeks to strengthen its position in the growing global lithium supply chain. 

The resumption of operations follows earlier announcements in October 2024 about the flotation upgrade, which was aimed at improving output quality and reducing losses.

Premier African Minerals, which also has interests in tungsten, rare earth elements, and gold projects across Zimbabwe and Mozambique, remains focused on Southern Africa for its multi-commodity mining and development strategy.

The company’s shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market under the ticker PREM.

Premier emphasised that this update contains information considered “inside information” under the UK’s Market Abuse Regulations and stated that further updates would be released once results are validated. The flotation restart follows several months of technical integration efforts with original equipment manufacturers.

Premier African Minerals has positioned Zulu as a key asset in Zimbabwe’s ambitions to benefit from global demand for battery minerals, including lithium. 

The project forms part of a wider portfolio that includes both grassroots exploration and brownfield development projects in the region.

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