Phatshwane was addressing the media recently. Zimbabwe, one of the world’s largest producers of lithium, has banned unprocessed export of the mineral that is highly sought-after globally for its use in the energy transition. The government there said it was losing a lot of money from exporting the raw mineral and not processing it into batteries. “The lithium deposits in Zimbabwe are a considerable opportunity for this operation,” Phatshwane said. “Lithium is actually one of the growth streams in the soda ash market globally. “This is because in processing lithium from its natural ore, you either have to convert lithium to lithium hydroxide which will mean that you use caustic soda which is made up of salt or you produce lithium carbonate which is made from soda ash.”
He added: “Currently, the ore is exported unprocessed to China. “I know that there are changes already (ban on unprocessed lithium). “Operators there are operating on a waiver. “Once the changes are in full swing, they (operators) are more likely to take the lithium carbonate route. “I do not see why Botash would not be competitive in delivering soda ash into Zimbabwe given it is the closest producer of soda ash.” Botash has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes for soda ash, though it currently produces about 280,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity for salt is 650,000 tonnes per year, including chemical grade, food grade coarse salt, and food grade fine salt. At present, salt production is approximately 420,000 tonnes annually, in line with market demand. Most of the soda ash is exported to South Africa, while the salt is primarily consumed locally and sold to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
