United Kingdom-based Zimbabwe businessman, Douglas Chikohora, 63, and his Cluff Africa Associates Mining Limited (CAA) are set to team up with a European firm in setting up a lithium refinery in Ghana.
Making the announcement Monday, the Minerals Commission of Ghana said the partnership between CAA Mining, a UK-incorporated company and Livista Energy would go a long way in enhancing local value addition in the West African country’s energy sector.
CAA, an established mining explorer, has been granted 18 months of exclusive licences to explore the highly rich lithium deposits in the Southern parts of Ghana. <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/uk-based-zimbabwe-businessman-in-ghana-lithium-refinery-venture/">ZimLive</a> cites Chikohora, the CAA co-founder and CEO as saying:
<blockquote>
Following the successful grant of the licenses, CAA Mining looks forward to commencing the exploration for lithium bearing pegmatite to supply Livista and prove the viability to establish some refining capability in Ghana.
</blockquote>
CAA has already identified eleven pegmatite outcrops and exposures upon which to focus the exploration and looks forward to publishing the results.
The setting up of a lithium refinery will deliver revenue sources for Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create employment.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/just-as-oil-is-to-saudi-arabia-so-is-lithium-and-iron-to-zimbabwe-chiwenga/">“Just As Oil Is To Saudi Arabia, So Is Lithium And Iron To Zimbabwe” – Chiwenga</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/beitbridge-border-post-officials-intercept-bernard-mnangagwas-trucks-loaded-with-lithium-ore/">Beitbridge Border Post Officials Intercept Bernard Mnangagwa’s Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-intercept-trucks-with-lithium-ore/">Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
</ul>
This comes at a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing a lithium rush following the discovery of the lucrative and strategic mineral in some parts of the country.
The discovery of lithium around the country positions Zimbabwe to play a dominant role in the production of lithium.
Zimbabwe, which produced 1 200 metric tonnes of the mineral in 2021 is the world’s fifth largest producer.  
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Pindula News

UK-based Zimbabwean In Process To Set Up A Lithium Refinery In Ghana

A Goromonzi councillor has praised mining company Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe for “its dedication” to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Prospect Lithium entered the Goromonzi district a year ago.
In an interview with The Herald, Ward 12 councillor Kondwakuenda Magaya said Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe had helped in the reduction of several issues including unemployment and the underdevelopment of the education and healthcare systems.
Cllr Ditima Mabasa of Ward 17 said Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe was transforming lives in the district. Mabasa is quoted as saying:
<blockquote>
In just a short period, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe has done a lot in Goromonzi district and Zimbabwe at large.
2022 saw Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi being transformed. New classroom blocks were constructed, old ones were renovated while semi-detached teachers’ houses were constructed.
Donations of 5 500 textbooks and furniture were also made to Vhuta Primary, Belmont Primary and Mwanza Primary and Secondary schools.
</blockquote>
Other interventions include prizes for the Vhuta Farmers Dry Show, Goromonzi highway road resurfacing, Goromonzi road gravelling and construction of bridges.
The lithium mining company also donated painting accessories to Goromonzi Police Station and constructed a police base in Ward 13.
PLZ has said it intends to focus on infrastructure development and agriculture, increased company-wide commitments to reduce its environmental footprint, and boost health and education in the communities the company is operating in.
It also intends to contribute millions of dollars toward:
<blockquote>
1). the building and rehabilitation of community schools, 
2). supporting the educational needs of underprivileged children, 
3). sponsoring sporting disciplines, 
4). supporting health and disability centres, 
5). agriculture and training of farmers to enable them to enhance household livelihoods.
</blockquote>
This year’s corporate social responsibility programmes are based on its investment philosophy, “no matter where you invest, you must contribute to the local economy and society.” 
Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe is a lithium exploration and development company focused on the Kamativi Tailings Project in Zimbabwe.
 The company’s goal is to become a significant lithium producer in the region and to take advantage of the growing demand for lithium, which is used in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and other electronic devices.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Councillor Praises Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe For "Dedication" To Corporate Social Responsibility

Zimbabwe’s <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">ban on the exportation of raw lithium</a> could trigger a rise in the price of lithium and by-products globally, miners have said.
The southern African nation is the world’s sixth-largest producer and the largest lithium miner on the continent. 
Its decision to ban raw lithium exports aims to make it a bigger player in EV battery production and support its clean energy transition.
Chris Berry, president of commodities advisory firm House Mountain Partners in New York said Chinese firms that had made recent lithium investments in Zimbabwe would need to build processing facilities there so they can export higher-value lithium chemicals.
Berry is cited by The Herald, a state-run newspaper, as saying building the facilities would be at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. He said: 
<blockquote>
There is a great deal of capital required to build chemical conversion facilities outside of China, not to mention the two or three-year lead time necessary to actually complete construction and commissioning.
</blockquote>
He added if more countries followed suit, it could have wider implications, such as higher prices for lithium and other raw materials.
Zimbabwe produced 1 200 tonnes of lithium in 2021, making it the sixth-largest miner globally behind Brazil (1 900 tonnes), Argentina (6 200 tonnes), China (14 000 tonnes), Chile (26 000 tonnes) and Australia (55 000 tonnes).
Sinomine Resource Group recently acquired “the world’s largest-known lithium deposit in Zimbabwe”, the Bikita mine, and has invested more than $200m into expanding it.
The British Geological Survey published a report in 2021 identifying multiple new potential lithium sources in Zimbabwe, which were either proven to be feasible for development or already in development. 
State media reported that Chinese companies Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group had acquired lithium projects worth a combined US$679m and begun progress on processing facilities, exempting them from the ban.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

"Zimbabwe's Ban On Exportation Of Raw Lithium Could Trigger Price Hike Globally"

<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Goromonzi">Goromonzi</a> North legislator <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Ozias_Bvute">Ozias Bvute</a> (ZANU PF) has said order has been restored in Goromonzi North after security forces evicted thousands of lithium hunters who last month invaded Goromonzi North in Mashonaland East province.
Scores of unemployed youths and buyers late last year descended in the area located near the recently established Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe mine in Acturus.
The artisanal miners were gathering lithium ore, selling it for around US$10 per wheelbarrow to buyers who were reportedly selling the same ore for US$400 per tonne, <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200005685/sanity-returns-in-lithium-rich-goromonzi">NewsDay</a> reported.
Ozias Bvute said mining will be done following due processes. NewsDay quotes him as saying:
<blockquote>
This will benefit both miners and the nation at large. I gathered that mining is now done in tributes and a number of youths from Goromonzi are benefiting.
</blockquote>
Illegal lithium mining in Goromonzi had resulted in massive environmental degradation, with miners also conducting their operations without ablution facilities.
This has been happening in various parts of the country where lithium was discovered.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/just-as-oil-is-to-saudi-arabia-so-is-lithium-and-iron-to-zimbabwe-chiwenga/">“Just As Oil Is To Saudi Arabia, So Is Lithium And Iron To Zimbabwe” – Chiwenga</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/beitbridge-border-post-officials-intercept-bernard-mnangagwas-trucks-loaded-with-lithium-ore/">Beitbridge Border Post Officials Intercept Bernard Mnangagwa’s Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-intercept-trucks-with-lithium-ore/">Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
</ul>
The chaos prompted the government to deploy security forces.
The government has also banned the exportation of raw lithium ore, preferring value addition. Nevertheless, cases of the exportation of raw lithium are still being reported.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Security Forces Evict Thousands Of Lithium Hunters Who Had Invaded Goromonzi

Acting President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Constantino_Chiwenga">Constantino Chiwenga</a> has said iron and lithium will be pivotal for Zimbabwe’s economic growth just as oil is to Saudi Arabia.
Chiwenga who doubles as the Minister of Health and Child Care made the remarks while addressing a Family of God (FOG) 2022/23 national thanksgiving and dedication prayer in Bulawayo on Thursday, NewsDay reported. He is cited as saying: 
<blockquote>
Fear not for the Lord Almighty is with you. Zimbabwe will not die or collapse. Those who want this God-given country to fold will be punished threefold. Yes, it has been painful to our people, but that’s the price we have to pay.
And so, we shall build our nation with the resources which we were given by the Almighty God.  We are faced by unjust and illegal sanctions. We have embarked in the work of re-engaging with hostile regimes, which have imposed illegal sanctions which are meant to cripple us. As we work hard on the frontier of engagement and re-engagement, we can say we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with our sister African nations assisting us. Iron and lithium will be pivotal in the growth and development of the country. Just as oil is to Saudi Arabia, so is lithium to Zimbabwe. So, we will not die.
</blockquote>
His remarks come as the <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">government banned exports of raw lithium</a> last week in an effort to value-add Zimbabwe’s minerals and support local production and employment creation.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">Zimbabwe Bans Export Of Raw Lithium</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-intercept-trucks-with-lithium-ore/">Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/two-men-arrested-while-trying-to-smuggle-40-tonnes-of-lithium-ore-to-south-africa/">Two Men Arrested While Trying To Smuggle 40 Tonnes Of Lithium Ore To South Africa</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-scheduled-to-commission-africas-biggest-steel-plant/">Zimbabwe Scheduled To Commission Africa’s Biggest Steel Plant</a></li>
</ul>
The ban was effected through Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022 titled Base Mineral Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022.
Lithium is becoming increasingly important as the world shifts towards clean energy systems.
Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource. 
In June this year, the minister of Mines and Mining Development, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Winston_Chitando">Winston Chitando</a> said Zimbabwe is on course to achieve the US$12 billion mining industry target by 2023.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s 2022 surplus from oil sales came to 102 billion riyals (US$27 billion), according to the kingdom’s finance ministry’s preliminary estimates.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

"Just As Oil Is To Saudi Arabia, So Is Lithium And Iron To Zimbabwe" - Chiwenga

Beitbridge Border Post officials Friday intercepted a consignment of lithium ore on three haulage trucks belonging to one Bernard Tafadzwa Mnangagwa.
The ore was being smuggled from Zimbabwe to South Africa and was declared as manganese, <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200005657/trucks-smuggling-lithium-caught-at-beitbridge">NewsDay</a> reported.
Mines and Mineral Development ministry officials arrived at the border post on Friday morning to attend to the trucks, now under police and Zimbabwe National Army guard.
It is understood that the raw mineral was extracted from places near Sandawana in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mberengwa">Mberengwa</a>, and transported to Bulawayo, where it was kept near Khami Cafe close to Bulawayo’s Vehicle Inspection Department.
The mineral was reportedly stored there to facilitate smuggling.
This comes after the <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">government banned exports of raw lithium</a> last week in an effort to value-add Zimbabwe’s minerals and support local production and employment creation.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-bans-export-of-raw-lithium/">Zimbabwe Bans Export Of Raw Lithium</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-intercept-trucks-with-lithium-ore/">Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/two-men-arrested-while-trying-to-smuggle-40-tonnes-of-lithium-ore-to-south-africa/">Two Men Arrested While Trying To Smuggle 40 Tonnes Of Lithium Ore To South Africa</a></li>
</ul>
The ban was effected through Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022 titled Base Mineral Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022.
Lithium is becoming increasingly important as the world shifts towards clean energy systems.
Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Beitbridge Border Post Officials Intercept Bernard Mnangagwa's Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore

The Zimbabwe Republic Police has intercepted trucks with lithium ore in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mutoko">Mutoko</a> at a time all exports of lithium ore and inadequately processed lithium are now banned to promote value addition and beneficiation of the mineral. 
The intercepted loads are stored at Mutoko Central Police Station, according to <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/police-intercept-truck-loads-of-lithium-ore/">The Herald</a>.
The publication did not disclose the quantity of lithium that was in the trucks.
The government recently claimed that potential revenue was being lost with illegal lithium mining and smuggling. 
Lithium is processed in several steps with most global trade in lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide since the actual metal is highly reactive and bursts into flame on contact with water or in moist environments and corrodes very quickly in the air.
Mutoko villagers are reportedly selling lithium ore for between US$15 to US$20 per wheelbarrow load, or US$100 per tonne, to middlemen who would resell it for US$350 to US$450 a tonne. 
Mines and Mining Development Deputy Minister <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Polite_Kambamura">Polite Kambamura</a> who toured some of the sites of illegal lithium mining in Mutoko said Government never issued a lithium licence.
Kambamura said registering a lithium claim was no guarantee of being allowed to mine and sell it since partial processing of a minimum level is now required. He said:
<blockquote>
For one to mine, we need to know your beneficiation plant in line with NDS1 where Government is encouraging local value addition and beneficiation. So, as Government we need to stamp our authority at the roots so that we deal with the main problem of illegal export or smuggling of lithium.
Currently there is a lot of illegal lithium mining especially in this region because of near surface lithium ore. Despite Government banning export of lithium ore, there is still plenty of lithium mining happening with buyers all over. 
We do not know where they are taking that lithium after the ban. If they are buying lithium illegally which means they are also exporting that lithium illegally which is smuggling.
</blockquote>
Some reports suggest that the Chinese and Indians are the main buyers of lithium.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Police Intercept Trucks Loaded With Lithium Ore

People from Mberengwa, Midlands have urged authorities to ensure that they participate and benefit from lithium mining in their area. 
There was recently <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/lithium-rush-in-mberengwa-police-order-miners-to-vacate-the-area/">a lithium rush in Mberengwa</a> with more than 5 000 artisanal miners and fortune seekers, including foreigners, mainly of Chinese and Indian origin, descending on the former Sandawana Mine in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mberengwa">Mberengwa</a>, in search of lithium. Sandawana Mine is in the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) portfolio and has been famed for producing emeralds and other precious stones. 
Lithium is a rare mineral whose production is currently taking place in only eight countries, with 85% of the global supply coming from Australia, Chile and China.
Zimbabwe is the world’s fifth-largest lithium producer. Its lithium output has risen steadily in recent years, producing 1 200 metric tonnes of the metal in 2021.
The government recently <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/police-stop-illegal-lithium-mining-at-sandawana-mine/">stopped all operations</a> in the area to formalise mining.
It is against this background that the people of Mberengwa feel sidelined and now want to be included in all processes. Pindula News presents a summary of Mberengwa Lithium Community Group:
28 November 2022
<h2>Historical Background</h2>
Aware of the current Lithium rush in Mberengwa, and abundant other mineral resources;
Realising that Mbererengwa is a typical case of a resource curse area that has nothing to show for its mineral wealth;
Cognisant of the historical marginalisation of local communities in development when their natural resources are exploited;
Exalting community participation and collective efforts to increase and exercise control over the use of resources in Mberengwa;
Acknowledging the need for an active process whereby Mberengwa communities influence the direction, path and execution of mineral resource benefits rather than merely wallow in poverty, exploitation, penury, underdevelopment of development, and development of underdevelopment;
Recognizing that Mberengwa has a dynamic, tolerant, enthusiastic and versatile human resource and technocrats in every field;
A decision was made to form a lobby group in November 2022 that could collectively navigate the best way forward for deriving inclusive sustainable development from natural resources, particularly Lithium;
The deliberations that ensued in the Mberengwa Lithium Community group are hereby summarised.
<h2>Challenges Faced</h2>
-Lithium mining activities are largely in a Reserved Area including Sandawana Mining Concession Area. No big Lithium Mining Company has a chance of getting mining rights in the RA, thereby leaving selected small-scale miners mining the resource exploited by opportunists (Chinese and Indians)
– Although there are indications of large-scale Lithium resources stretching from the Southern part of the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Great_Dyke">Great Dyke</a> in an eastern direction along the Mwezha schist, there has been no Geological Survey to determine the exact quantity of the owe, thereby leaving both govt and local communities at the mercy of capital flight from the resource by stupendous mining capitalists.
– The involvement of Kuvimba Mining Company in the Lithium Mining area around Sandawana lacks clarity.
-The involvement of Chinese and Indians in prospecting for Lithium in Mberengwa is also worrisome.
-The involvement of <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Henrietta_Rushwaya">Henrietta Rushwaya</a>-led Zimbabwe Miners Federation is worrisome, let alone her locus standi in parcelling Lithium Mining claims in Mberengwa to her entourage and on partisan lines.
– There has been no engagement with local communities, chiefs, RDC etc in the prospecting and mining of Lithium, let alone in parcelling Lithium Mining claims.
-Current tapping of Lithium resonates with plundering, wrecking, siphoning, looting and primitive accumulation of wealth by people from outside Mberengwa, Chinese and Indians.
– Govts globally have been weak in protecting communities from mining companies’ environmental malpractices.
– EMA has been very weak in enforcing regulations governing the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment.
– There has been environmental degradation of the worst order and destruction of sacred places in Mberengwa.
-Armed robberies and other social ills are also on the increase in the Lithium Mining areas in Mberengwa.
– Weakening of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (IEE Act 14 of 2007) by the 2018 Finance Act that watered down Community Share Ownership Trusts to voluntary exercise as opposed to the hitherto mandatory 10% of production.
<h2>Legal Framework for Intervention</h2>
There was intense debate over the Legal Framework of Intervention. While some doubted if we had a legal framework
for Intervention, it is noteworthy to consider the following:
– The Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013) sections 73 on environmental rights, 264 devolution, 282 (c) on functions of traditional leaders.
– Traditional Leadership Act, Chapter 29: 17, 2016
– Rural District Council Act, 2009
– Environmental Management Act, 2005
– Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, 2018
– Finance Act, 2018
– Mines and Mineral Act
– World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, 1979
– International Council of Mining and Metals, 2017
– African Union (AU) Mining Vision (AMV), 2009
In a nutshell, international, regional and national bodies (and the national Constitution) have come up with Economic frameworks to bolster community benefits from mineral resources around them. Fundamentally, they stipulate that mining firms should contribute to the social, Economic, and institutional development of the communities in which they operate.
<h2>Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs), 2012-2018</h2>
Initiated in 2012 CSOTs were meant to act as vehicles of community development using proceeds from mining activities within each district. Unfortunately, Mberengwa with abundant minerals has had white elephant CSOTs.
The CSOTs were established under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, of 2007, and subsidiary legislation on the same. Under this legislation, mines were to give at least 10% of the shareholding to CSOTs as representatives of communities surrounding areas of their operations.
The composition of the CSOTs Board of Trustees was as follows:
1) Traditional Chief (who was chair of the CSOTs on an annual rotational basis);
2). Deputy chair, DA (now District Development Coordinator)
3) Secretary, CEO of RDC
4)Trustees
-chairperson of RDC
-District head of the Ministry of youth
-Rep from qualifying businesses
-Rep of local business community
-legal practitioner
-Qualified accountant
-Representatives of Special Interest groups – the youths, women, people with disabilities, and war veterans
It is noteworthy that while this has slackened after the Finance Act of 2018, mines have continued to fund CSOTs on a voluntary basis in other areas such as <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zvishavane">Zvishavane</a>, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mutoko">Mutoko</a>, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gwanda">Gwanda</a>, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Shurugwi">Shurungwi</a>, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mutare">Mutare</a>, etc.
<h2>Submissions</h2>
It was in light of the foregoing that members from the Mberengwa Lithium Community group suggested that we should:
-Produce a Lithium White Paper that becomes a blueprint for a sustainable and inclusive model for exploiting resources in Mberengwa carrying the local community along with the Transformational Agenda that natural resources should be used for and where everyone must feel the impact of a good investment in Mberengwa District.
-Exploit the existing regulations to advocate for the operationalization of CSOTs in order to balance the interests of local communities and mining companies.
-Harness stockholders like chiefs, RCD, DDC, Mps and technocrats to resist naked exploitation and ensure the operationalization of some modicum of devolution that would allow benefits from mining ventures to benefit local communities.
-Put mechanisms that will ensure we get value for our resources as communities and protect communities from exploitation and revenue leakages.
-Claim rights based on Constitution, Mining laws, environmental regulations and traditional laws as no one will give us rights on a silver platter.
-Establish an organisational institutional framework, viz, formation of a Community Trust mandated and well represented that becomes the engagement/communication channel with miners/investors or operators. It can also champion development and resource distribution in Mberengwa.
-Establish a clear-cut stakeholder engagement matrix in which stakeholders can be identified from local communities, district, provincial and national levels in line with the layered structure of Zimbabwe. Mr Desmond Matete provided a paper that can provide a starting point in this endeavour.
-Lobby govt and in particular Ministry of Mines to carry out a Geological Survey of Lithium resources in Mberengwa. Technocrats from Mberengwa can also join the govt team in the Geological survey in order to establish the quantity of Lithium resources in order for both govt and Mberengwa community to make maximum benefits from Lithium exploitation.
-Lobby for large entities to be allowed to operate in the RA in order to maximise value addition and contribution to Community Share Ownership Schemes and Corporate Social Investments.
– Ensure that communities must be engaged from the exploration stage to development, maturity and decline and closure stages, and their input is seriously considered.
– Mining companies must carry Environmental Impact Assessment before starting to exploit Lithium, and sign a Memorandum of Agreements over sound corporate social development, and environmental and cultural respect.
– Ensure that Lithium Mining companies must build local processing plants so that there is value addition and beneficiation. A win-win investment plan and local processing are a must for development.
– Lobby for a Lithium battery-making company in Mberengwa or Zvishavane as a long-term impact.
– Collectively make sure that the greatest contribution Lithium Mining can possibly make to the development agenda of Mberengwa is skills development and capacity building of the local community which in turn guarantees maximum shared benefits.
– Benefits from Lithium make immerse contributions towards infrastructural development in the areas of education, health, transport, agriculture/food security, livelihoods, water, sanitation etc.
-Lobby the Minister of Mines to stop the machinations and one-armed banditry operations of ZMF and ensure that mining claims are given by a credible board that takes cognisance of the interests of local communities.
– That the best way for the people of Mberengwa is to unite in their diversity in a non-partisan sustainable development modus operandi.
-Hold an all-stakeholder conference at an agreed venue in Mberengwa that would come up with binding resolutions and mandate an inclusive committee to be fully operational and act on behalf of communities in Mberengwa.
-Form various lobby committees with a focus on inclusive sustainable development. Some suggested committees include one comprising some technocrats and MPs tasked with engaging the Minister of Mines over challenges emanating from current Lithium exploitation and the best methods that can accrue benefits from such mining. It is noteworthy that as much as MPs are sponsored by a political party, their mandate as representatives of constituencies goes beyond their parties.
-A mobilisation committee was also suggested, as well as Information Committee to apply the best ways for Mberengwa communities to benefit from natural resources. Other committees will be agreed on soon.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
As resource owners, we should participate in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating, as well as dividends sharing of natural resources in Mberengwa, particularly from Lithium. The government and mining companies must also ensure that a greater share of Lithium resource wealth in Mberengwa is used for social services and development programmes nationally, as well as to directly benefit local communities. Nothing for the people of Mberengwa without their participation and anything about Lithium in Mberengwa without the people of Mberengwa is against us. Our participation and benefit from Lithium mining is a basic human right that must be respected by our govt and mining companies in particular.
Dr <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Takavafira_Zhou">Takavafira M. Zhou</a>, Interim Sec for Mberengwa Lithium Community 
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