MBERENGWA — Mutapa Energy Resources is preparing to relocate 104 families from Sandawana Mine in Mberengwa to pave the way for the construction of a planned US$300 million lithium processing plant.
The company has already completed seven demonstration houses, which have received approval from traditional leaders and Government stakeholders. Construction of the remaining houses is expected to be completed by the end of September.
Mutapa Energy Resources chief executive officer Innocent Rukweza said the company was targeting September 20 through to the end of the month to complete the houses and begin moving the affected families.
“We are targeting September 20 to about the end of September to finalise all the 104 houses. Thereupon we will relocate all the families that are involved,” Rukweza said.
Each affected household will be provided with a four-roomed house, kitchen and ablution facilities, with the cost estimated at about US$28,000 per house.
The company will also provide fencing around the new settlements and establish water infrastructure to support the relocated families.
The resettlement programme is a key step towards clearing the site for the proposed lithium processing facility. Construction of the plant is expected to begin before the end of September, while the lithium concentrator is scheduled to be commissioned in November 2027.
The development site also contains more than 52 graves that will have to be exhumed before construction activities can commence.
According to Rukweza, the exhumation process is expected to begin around September 1, provided the outstanding burial orders are secured.
“Once we do that, then I think land clearing will start,” he said.
Mutapa Energy Resources, the mining and energy subsidiary of the Mutapa Investment Fund, is leading operations at Sandawana as Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to process minerals locally and increase the value derived from its lithium resources.
Rukweza said the mine had continued supplying ore to the Gwanda lithium plant, generating more than US$80 million in revenue during the first seven months of the year.
The company is simultaneously working on infrastructure projects designed to support mining operations and surrounding communities.
These include the construction of the 52-kilometre York-Sandawana road, a water pipeline and a 132kV electricity transmission line.
Mutapa Energy Resources also plans several community development projects, including an 82-cattle livestock programme, construction of dip tanks and the relocation of a primary school and police station.
A clinic is also planned as part of efforts to improve social services for communities around the mining operation.