MINES and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando has confirmed participation at the African Mining Week (AMW) set for October.
In a statement yesterday, the Energy Capital & Power said Chitando was expected to join other African ministers at the high-level ministerial forum, which will highlight investment opportunities in Africa’s mining sector.
Themed From Extraction to Transformation: African Governments Driving Beneficiation and Value Addition, the forum will feature presentations from ministers on national strategies to enhance local value addition and increase mineral resource revenue.
AMW, which runs from October 1 to 3, serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa and the event will be held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference in Cape Town.
Chitando's presentation at AMW 2025 will highlight how the country is progressing in advancing local content policies and prioritising community development.
“The government is reforming its Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill to make community investment mandatory for mining firms, ensuring that mining activities translate to direct social and economic benefits for local populations,” the statement said.
Besides community development, AMW 2025 is also expected to show how the country is advancing its mineral processing capabilities, especially in the lithium sector.
“Following the December 2022 ban on raw lithium exports, the country has attracted over US$1 billion in new lithium processing investments,” the statement said.
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Among the investments are the US$310 million investment by British and Chinese firms at the three-million-tonne-per-year Sandawana lithium mine; a US$300 million upgrade to the Bikita Lithium Mine by Sinomine Resources; a new 300-tonne-per-day processing facility in Mutoko by Rwizi Rukuru; and a further US$300 million investment by ZHEJIANG Huayou Cobalt at the Arcadia lithium facility.
“In a broader move to integrate mining with industrial production, Zimbabwe launched the US$3,6 billion Palm River Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone and Industrial Park in March 2025. Located in Beitbridge, the project comprises a 100 000-tonne ferrochrome smelting facility, a 1 200MW coal-fired power plant, and a 7-million-tonne-per-year coal mine,” the statement read.
Zimbabwe is also advancing its gold industry, aiming to increase output to 40 tonnes this year.
“The upward trend is supported by discoveries, including positive results from Kavango Resources’ drilling programme at Prospect 3 of the Hillside Gold Project in Matabeleland province, signalling Zimbabwe’s growing gold potential,” it said.
