Lohum dispatches first Zimbabwe lithium ore

Lohum Cleantech has dispatched the first tranche of lithium ore from its mining assets in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South Province, marking the start of production at its first overseas mines.

The privately held company says the milestone makes it the first Indian producer to extract lithium from overseas assets.

Lohum has secured rights to 10 spodumene-bearing blocks covering about 1,100 hectares. It estimates the assets contain 30–40 million tonnes of ore and could produce about 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over their operating lives.

Based on prevailing lithium carbonate prices, Lohum places their gross in situ value at about US$7 billion ($9.71 billion). However, the figure is not a project valuation or forecast financial return.

The company plans to undertake initial processing in Zimbabwe before refining the material into lithium carbonate in India. It also intends to develop local processing capacity as Zimbabwe prepares to ban lithium concentrate exports from January 2027.

Lohum holds preferred rights over as many as 90 adjacent blocks. CEO Rajat Verma says securing upstream supply could reduce battery-material costs and strengthen India’s EV supply chain.

Lohum Cleantech is an Indian critical minerals company operating across primary production, battery recycling, metals refining, and advanced materials manufacturing. Back in 2022, the company signed a US$200-million agreement to supply Glencore (LSE:GLEN) with 10,000 metric tons of recycled battery specialty chemicals over five years.

Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au

Images: Lohum Cleantech

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