EnviroPress Reporter

MBERENGWA — As Sandawana Mine moves towards a new phase of lithium production, residents in the surrounding communities are asking a question that goes beyond jobs and investment: what will they get from the expansion, and what will they lose?

The question has become more urgent as plans advance for a major lithium concentrator at the historic mine in Mberengwa, Midlands Province.

Kuvimba Mining House has said the US$270 million project is expected to produce more than 500,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate annually, with commissioning targeted for 2027.

But expansion also means disruption.

A 2026 recruitment notice for a relocations officer confirmed that some community members are being relocated as part of the mine expansion.

The officer’s responsibilities include engaging project-affected persons, addressing disputes and developing livelihood-restoration programmes.

For traditional leaders, relocation must not become a euphemism for displacement.

In earlier engagements, Chief Ngungumbane said affected families should receive compensation and be moved to safer areas, while Sandawana Primary School — located close to mining operations — should also be relocated.

Traditional leaders have raised concerns over noise, environmental pollution and the condition of roads used by mine traffic.

Residents’ demands are broader still.

They want better roads, reliable water, health facilities, training and employment.

Community concerns documented in 2023 included the rehabilitation of major roads, the Jeka Bridge, a clinic and greater opportunities for local businesses and workers.

Roads remain particularly sensitive. In 2025, Sandawana employed 26 locals for road rehabilitation, while the company said it was upgrading a 60-kilometre gravel road linking the mine to the main highway.

Employment has brought visible benefits, but residents also remember the instability of mining jobs.

More than 1,000 local jobs were reported during Sandawana’s renewed investment phase in 2024, while later reports noted that hundreds of workers had previously lost jobs when falling lithium prices forced cutbacks.

The mine says it is responding. In 2025, Sandawana reported spending about US$475,000 on community initiatives, including infrastructure and social programmes.

Yet the scale of the coming expansion raises the stakes.

The community wants development to be visible beyond the mine gate — in classrooms, roads, clinics, water points, local businesses and household incomes. It also wants meaningful participation in decisions affecting people who may have to surrender homes or farmland.

Sandawana’s next chapter could transform Mberengwa. But for residents, the measure of that transformation will not be the tonnes of lithium produced.

It will be whether the people living beside the resource finally see a fair share of its value.