Zim Now Business Desk
Mutapa Energy Resources has announced an independently certified mineral resource of 39.9 million tonnes of lithium-bearing ore at Sandawana Mine in Mberengwa, potentially strengthening Zimbabwe’s position in the global battery minerals market.
The estimate is compliant with the internationally recognised Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code, a reporting standard used by investors and financial institutions to assess mineral resources.
Mutapa Energy Resources chief executive Innocent Rukweza said 28.7 million tonnes, or 72 percent of the total resource, had been classified as “Measured” — the highest-confidence category.
He said the classification could improve the project’s attractiveness to investors and lenders.
“It means that it becomes bankable,” Rukweza said.
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The certified resource covers Block A, which accounts for about 30 percent of Sandawana’s 3 800-hectare mining claims. Blocks B and C remain largely unexplored, creating potential for further resource growth.
The resource estimate followed an 11-month exploration programme involving 103 000 metres of drilling and 33 000 samples at a cost of US$24 million.
Mutapa plans to invest a further US$18 million in exploration and resource upgrades, with the goal of increasing the resource to as much as 90 million tonnes.
“It is our hope that we want to upgrade our resource from the current 39.9 or 40 million to get to up to 90 million, if possible,” Rukweza said.
Sandawana, which has a mining history dating back to 1955, is being revived as a lithium and tantalite operation under Mutapa Investment Fund.
The company said it had already mined about two million tonnes of ore and was constructing a concentrator plant with a processing capacity of three million tonnes per year.
Exploration has also identified potentially recoverable tantalum and niobium, while supporting infrastructure, including roads, a school and a clinic, is being developed around the mine.
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