Arcadia Lithium Mine
Zimbabwe's flagship lithium mine, home to Africa's first lithium sulphate plant.
Arcadia is an open-pit lithium mine about 38 km east of Harare, run by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), a subsidiary of China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which bought the mine for US$422 million in 2022. A US$300 million concentrator was commissioned in 2023 and exported about 400,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate in 2024. To meet Zimbabwe's ban on exporting lithium concentrate from 2027, Huayou built a lithium sulphate plant at the site for about US$400 million. PLZ shipped its first lithium sulphate in April 2026, and the plant was formally commissioned on 20 July 2026.
- 01Convert concentrate into battery-grade lithium sulphate in Zimbabwe ahead of the 2027 export ban
- 02Reach the sulphate plant's design capacity of about 50,000-60,000 tonnes a year
- 03Begin crude lithium carbonate production before the end of 2026
- 04Add a 70 MW solar plant to reduce reliance on the national grid
2022 · completed
Huayou Acquisition
Huayou Cobalt bought the Arcadia project for about US$422 million.
2023 · completed
Concentrator Commissioned
A US$300 million concentrator was built in nine months and began exporting concentrate.
2024 · completed
Full Capacity
The concentrator reached full capacity and about 400,000 tonnes of concentrate were exported.
2026 · completed
First Lithium Sulphate
PLZ shipped its first lithium sulphate in April 2026.
2026 · completed
Sulphate Plant Commissioned
The US$400 million lithium sulphate plant was formally commissioned on 20 July 2026.
2027 · upcoming
Concentrate Export Ban
Zimbabwe's ban on lithium concentrate exports takes effect.
Mineral Resource
Lithium Pegmatite
Remaining resources of about 2.45 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, at a grade of about 1.34% (August 2025).
Processing Plant
Concentrator
US$300 million plant producing lithium concentrate.
Processing Plant
Lithium Sulphate Plant
About US$400 million plant with a design capacity reported at 50,000-80,000 tonnes a year.
Energy Infrastructure
Solar Plant
70 MW solar plant under construction since 2025.
- Open-pit mining of lithium pegmatite
- Dense media separation and flotation to spodumene and petalite concentrate
- Lithium sulphate refinery (commissioned 2026)
- 70 MW solar plant (under construction)
What it means for the community
Arcadia is central to Zimbabwe's push to process minerals at home rather than export raw concentrate. Researchers and journalists have questioned how much of the value of Zimbabwe's lithium boom reaches local communities and the national treasury.
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- Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe
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