Main content:
With the rapid development of the global new energy and lithium ion battery industry, the demand for lithium resources is increasing, and lithium resources in Africa are also receiving more and more attention and attention. Africa has considerable lithium reserves. Congo (Kinshasa) with the most abundant reserves has a proven total lithium reserve of 3 million tons (metal volume). Africa is the main venue for the next round of lithium capacity expansion.
According to the data, the proven lithium resources in Africa are mainly distributed in Congo (Kinshasa), Zimbabwe, Mali and other countries. Among them, Manono Lithium Mine, Goulamina Lithium Mine, Arcadia Lithium Mine, Bikita Lithium Mine and Ewoyaa Lithium Mine are the top 5 world lithium mine in Africa.
The top 5 world lithium mine in Africa
① Manono Lithium Mine
The Manono Lithium Mine project is the third largest world lithium mine project and is one of the top 5 world lithium mine in Africa, and its resources are second only to Pilbara Pilgangoora and Thaleson. At present, the mine is mainly held by AVZ Mineral and Tianhua Times. The latest report shows that the production capacity of the Manono mine will be expanded from the previous 700,000 tons of spodumene concentrate to 1.6 million tons, and the service life will be expanded from 20 years to 29.5 years. The Manono lithium mine project has signed lithium concentrate offtake agreements with a number of Chinese lithium salt companies.
Resources, reserves and grade:
Among the world lithium mine in Africa, the project has proven resources as high as 269 million tons. According to the feasibility report released by AVZ in April 2020, the total ore volume of the project can reach 400 million tons, the average grade of lithium oxide is 1.65%, and the amount of lithium resources is equivalent to about 16.33 million tons of LCE. The project has lithium resource reserves of approximately 5.36 million tons of LCE.
Geographic location:
The Manono project is located in Manono, Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the feasibility report released by AVZ in April 2020, the company has decided to adopt the preferred routes on the east coast and west coast of Africa, and export ports in Lobito in Angola and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania respectively in order of priority.
② Goulamina Lithium Mine
The Goulamina world lithium mine project is jointly held by Firefinch and Ganfeng Lithium in battery-grade lithium carbonate companies, and is one of the spodumene projects with the highest lithium oxide grade in the world and one of the top 5 world lithium mine in Africa. The mine started construction on June 3 and is expected to start production in early 2024.
Ganfeng Lithium (50%) and Firefinch (50%) control Goulamina through the establishment of a joint venture Dutch SPV company. The project currently plans to have a production capacity of 500,000 tons of lithium concentrate in the first phase, and the production capacity of the second phase can be expanded to 800,000 tons of lithium concentrate. According to the feasibility study report released in December 2021, the project is expected to have a raw ore production capacity of 4 million tons per year in 2024.
Resources, reserves and grade:
According to the announcement of Ganfeng Lithium Industry, the project has an ore volume of 108 million tons, an average lithium oxide grade of 1.45%, and a lithium oxide resource of 1.57 million tons, equivalent to a contract of 3.878 million tons of LCE.
Geographic location:
The Goulamina world lithium mine project is located in the Bougouni region in southern Mali, covering an area of 100 kilometers and about 150 kilometers from Bamako, the capital of Mali. Mali is a landlocked country, and lithium mine needs to be transported by truck to the port of Abidjan, which is 1,000 kilometers away, or the port of Dakar, which is 1,600 kilometers away.
③ Arcadia Lithium Mine
The Arcadia lithium mine is located in the Mashonaland region of Zimbabwe, with a mature and stable transportation system. Prospect Resources holds 100% equity of Arcadia and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huayou International Drilling Industry. According to the acquisition announcement issued by Huayou Cobalt in December 2021, Huayou International Mining, a subsidiary of Huayou Cobalt, completed the acquisition of 100% of Prospect’s equity at a price of US$422 million.
According to the report, the project in top 5 world lithium mine in Africa is preparing to build a construction project with an annual processing capacity of 2.4 million tons of ore, and the construction period will be two years. After completion, the world lithium mine is expected to produce 147,000 tons of spodumene concentrate, 94,000 tons of technical grade lithium petalite concentrate, 24,000 tons of chemical grade lithium petalite concentrate, and 0.3 tons of tantalum concentrate.
Resources, reserves and grade:
According to the JORC (2012) standard resource data of the Arcadia project released by Prospect Resources in October 2021, the project has a total ore volume of 72.7 million tons, with a lithium oxide grade of 1.06%, and the resource volume is equivalent to 1.9 million tons of LCE.
Geographic location:
The Arcadia Lithium project is located in the highlands approximately 38 kilometers east of Harare, Zimbabwe, at altitudes ranging between 1300 and 1420 meters above mean sea level. Products from the project area can be transported to Beira via the Harare-Mozambique main road for transport of the concentrate through the Goromonzi district to the Harare-Mutare/Mozambique road.
④ Bikita Lithium Mine
The Bikita Lithium Mine has the No. 1 mining right, which is valid permanently and has not changed ownership in the last three years. The Bikita mine is a top 5 world lithium mine in Africa and one of the oldest lithium mines in Zimbabwe and the only lithium mine in Africa. The main products in the last three years are high-grade and low-impurity technical-grade petalite concentrate and cesium garnet concentrate. China Mining Resources is currently the main holding company of the project.01
Resources, reserves and grade:
According to the project progress announcement of China Mining Resources in February 2022, the Bikita lithium ore resources are 29.414 million tons, with an average Li2O grade of 1.17%, equivalent to 848,600 tons of LCE. The mine's lithium concentrate beneficiation capacity is 700,000 tons per year, and the average grade of lithium oxide in the concentrate is around 4%-6%.
Geographic location:
The Bikita lithium mine project is located in Mazengo Province, Zimbabwe, 325 kilometers from the capital Harare. The project is connected with the capital, the capital of Machengo Province, South Africa's Durban port, and Mozambique's Beira port with highways and railways. The transportation is convenient and the infrastructure is relatively complete.
⑤ Ewoyaa Lithium Mine
The Ewoyaa project is a spodumene project and the world lithium mine, covering an area of 684 square kilometers. Atlantic Lithium holds 100% interest in the Ewoyaa Lithium project in Ghana, and Piedmont gradually controls the project through an agreement. On July 1, 2021, Piedmont signed an agreement with Atlantic Lithium to provide US$102 million in funding for the Ewoyaa Lithium project in Ghana.
As part of the financing agreement with Atlantic Lithium, Piedmont has signed a binding agreement to further expand its project ownership to 50% and acquire an off-take right to 50% of the spodumene concentrate production throughout the life of the mine. The planned lithium concentrate production capacity of the project is 300,000 tons per year. The pre-feasibility study (PFS) and final feasibility study (DFS) will be completed by the end of 2022. The project is expected to be put into operation in 2024-2025.
Resources, reserves and grade:
According to Scoping Study, the project has mine resources of 21.3 million tons, Li2O content of 1.31%, equivalent to 686,000 tons of LCE, and has further exploration potential.
Geographic location:
The Ewoyaa project is located on the south coast of Ghana, 1km away from the highway, 1.6km away from the Takoradi-Accra National Highway, and 110km away from the Takoradi Port, which takes less than two hours by car.
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