EnviroPress Reporter
Bikita Minerals has ordered a significant reduction of the work of contracted companies in response to sluggish performance of lithium on the global resources market, EnviroPress can report.
In a notice, the lithium-producing company ordered some contractors to immediately adjust their operations while suspending the operations of other contractors outright.
“Due to lithium market factors, the DMS plant will be shut down from October 2024, (and) the following contractors need to make adjustments based on production needs:
- Kinsey, Hocean and KW stop all mining operational activities since [sic] 30/9/2024.
- Auxin need to reduce production and withdrew [sic] personnels [sic] and equipment to fit the downside for the tonnages.
“Subsequent resumption of production is to be announced by the BIKITA mining department,” reads part of the notice signed by the chief mining engineer.
Kinsey and Hocean are largely involved in mine haulage and logistics, KW are specialists in blasting, and Auxin are drillers. These are among other contracted companies that employ around 1 500 people at the mine.
DMS stands for Dense Medium Separator, a plant which sorts out mineral ores on the basis of their densities prior to milling. The company produces petalite, a low lithium-bearing mineral which is used largely in the ceramic industry, and spodumene, a better quality lithium-bearing mineral used in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles.
Lithium prices have reportedly dropped from an all-time high of US$4 500 per kilo tonne to US$750 per kilo tonne as of September 09, 2024, and this has heavily impacted on the earnings of the Shenzhen-listed Sino Mine Resource Group, the owners of the mine.
Since taking over in January 2022, Sino Mine has invested heavily in the mine, commissioning a new spodumene processing plant, built in record 12 months at a cost of US$300 million, in November 2023.
The company also invested in setting up a High Performance Grinding Rollers (HPGR) plant which has, however, not been put to use.
On the corporate social responsibility front, Bikita Minerals has pledged to build a new bridge to complement the nearly 100-year old Birchenough Bridge which can no longer carry heavy loads that company needs to transport to Mozambican ports across the Save River.
