Kuvimba denies looting villagers’ ore, says committed to empowering communities – NewZimbabwe.com

By Mary Taruvinga

KUVIMBA Mining House (KMH) has denied ever looting lithium ore from Mberengwa villagers surrounding its recently acquired Sandawana Mine saying they are committed to supporting the community they operate in.

In 2019, KMH, an investment and holding company of mining entities working in special minerals, energy minerals, and base metals acquired the mine which had shut down in 2010 due to working capital challenges and depletion of emerald resources.

In 2022 there were reports regarding a lithium rush in the area and allegations that the company forcibly took ore from villagers.

In an interview with NewZimbabwe.com during a recent media tour at the mine, Godwin Gambiza, Sandawana general manager dismissed the claims.

“We paid for the lithium ore. I can even share with you a breakdown of the schedule that we have for the lithium ore that we acquired from them… for the effort that they spent on mining ore, we had to reward them for it. So we purchased it and we collected the ore,” he said.

KMH is developing Sandawana Mine into a high-grade lithium deposit mine.

The mining lease and claim holdings cover a 21 km-long strip along the Mweza Mountain Range

The 3882 hectares are rich in vast mineral resources, including Tantalite, Mica, Emeralds, and Gold.

Sandawana Mine commenced mining operations in the 1950s as an emerald mine but has changed hands over its long history.

Previous owners include Rio Tinto.

Gambiza said the expected investment in Sandawana Mine shall bring various benefits to the local economy.

He said their current production capacity stands at 120 000 tonnes of lithium ore per month with a potential to do 560 000 per month.

“As Kuvimba, we are committed to empowering smaller groups including community groups and other groups like war veterans, youths among others. We will increase that 560 000 production per month including those smaller groups like the war veterans, the youths, as well as artisanal miners…so what we want to do, because that was illegal mining, we want to make sure that we regularise everything,” he said.

To date, KMH has injected a total of US$ 56 million to revive operations and explore lithium and other mineral resources.

A four-phased extensive exploration program is underway to determine the lithium mineral resources and reserves.

Three exploration companies led by an international entity are currently on a fast-tracked exploration program with 33 drilling rigs on site.

The exploration companies will issue the first phase JORC report in August 2023. The exploration program is expected to establish a lithium resource of over 200 million tonnes of lithium ore at an average grade greater than 1.5%, making it the largest known resource in the region.

Lithium open-pit mining operations commenced in January 2023. To date, Sandawana Mine has mined and stockpiled over 600,000 tonnes of high-grade lithium ore, valued at over US$216 million.

A large state-of-the-art laboratory has also been completed at the mine.

KMH Group CEO, Simba Chinyemba commented that the mining entity is committed to raw materials’ beneficiation and value addition.

“To this end, feasibility studies for a 4.5 million flotation plant are underway. The plant is expected to be commissioned within 18 months. Discussions are at an advanced stage with at least 3 potential partners.”

Chinyemba said while the discussions are highly confidential, it is expected that based on the resource alone, the Sandawana Mine valuation ranges between US$2.5 billion to US$3 billion.

He said the progress at Sandawana is particularly remarkable given that only 12 months ago the mine was considered to have a valuation less than US$5 million dollars in total.