After being given development rights, China’s Zijin Mining has promised to protect its interest in the controversial Manono Lithium mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of the world’s largest hard rock resources of the material.
In order to manufacture the metal needed in batteries for electric vehicles, China’s largest gold and copper miner, Zijin, has been acquiring lithium assets recently, including mines within the country and locations in Argentina.
The state-owned Cominiere of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zijin subsidiary Jinxiang Lithium have partnered to form Manono Lithium SAS, which announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday that it has secured an exploration licence for the northeast tenement of the Manono mine.
The project’s commencement date for exploration has not been disclosed by the business.
The mining minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) cancelled the permission that Australian-listed AVZ Minerals had previously held, citing the company’s slow development. AVZ is challenging that ruling.
Chen Chen, Zijin Mining’s legal counsel, told Reuters on Wednesday that Zijin remains dedicated to advancing the project in collaboration with Cominiere, the DRC, local stakeholders, and the people of the DRC. “We cannot speculate as to what legal issues will arise in the future, but will defend the new JV so that work on the northern tenement may continue for the benefit of the DRC and its local communities,” he stated.
AVZ, which delisted from the Australian stock exchange last year with a valuation of A$2.8 billion ($1.79 billion), insisted it was the tenement’s legitimate owner. “AVZ has been in constructive negotiations with the DRC Government to establish a pathway to grant the mining licence and the resolution of arbitrations between AVZ and DRC controlled entities,” it said in a statement.
Chinese mining companies and battery producers are making investments in Africa to increase production of metals like copper, cobalt, and lithium, which are essential to the green transition.
According to Jian Heyuan, general manager of Manono Lithium, “if exploration and feasibility studies go well, this has strong potential to become the first to-production lithium project for Zijin in Africa and the DRC,” a statement released on Wednesday to Reuters stated. “Zijin intends to complete the construction of the Project within two years, after conducting the feasibility study and confirming financing,” Heyuan said.
