MBERENGWA – Mutapa Energy Resources is set to relocate 104 families at Sandawana Mine in Mberengwa to make way for a US$300 million lithium processing plant, after completing demonstration houses that have been approved by traditional leaders.
The company is targeting the end of September to complete the remaining houses and relocate all the affected families from the area earmarked for the plant.
Mutapa Energy Resources chief executive officer Innocent Rukweza said seven model houses had already been constructed and received the backing of traditional leaders and government stakeholders.
“We are targeting September 20 to about the end of September to finalise all the 104 houses. Thereupon we will relocate all the families that are involved,” Rukweza said.
Each family will receive a four-roomed house, kitchen and ablution facilities at an estimated cost of US$28,000 per household. The company will also fence the new settlements and provide water infrastructure.
The relocation will clear the way for development of the planned US$300 million lithium processing plant. Rukweza said construction of the plant is expected to start before the end of September, while commissioning of the lithium concentrator remains targeted for November 2027.
More than 52 graves located within the proposed plant site must also be exhumed before land clearing begins. The company expects to start the process around September 1, subject to the completion of outstanding burial orders.
“Once we do that, then I think land clearing will start,” Rukweza said.
Mutapa Energy Resources, the mining and energy arm of the Mutapa Investment Fund, is overseeing the Sandawana lithium operation as Zimbabwe seeks to expand local mineral processing and capture more value from its lithium resources.
Rukweza said Sandawana had continued supplying ore to the Gwanda lithium plant, generating more than US$80 million in revenue during the first seven months of the year.
The company is also advancing supporting infrastructure, including a 52-kilometre York-Sandawana road, a water pipeline and a 132kV power line.
Beyond the mine, Mutapa plans to support surrounding communities through an 82-cattle livestock project, construction of dip tanks, relocation of a primary school and police station and construction of a clinic.
