中国企业Huayou与Tsingshan正在挑战锂价下跌的趋势，他们与中国赞比亚国有公司Kuvimba合作开发位于该国南部的一个电池金属矿床。这两家公司已经在非洲南部的国家运营锂项目，并计划在桑达瓦纳完成一项研究，以准备在当地南部建造一座矿山和加工设施。据Kuvimba的首席执行官Trevor Barnard透露，该公司持有该资产的所有权，这些公司在7月签署了一项协议，但未公开合作伙伴名称。
尽管锂现货价格从2022年底以来下跌了近90%，全球范围内已导致一些生产活动暂停或延期，但中国公司仍持续寻求原料以支持国内的炼厂需求。据Barnard称，Huayou和Tsingshan的建设计划预计耗资约250-$300百万美元，每年生产大约50万公吨锂精矿。
Kuvimba的代理CEO表示，两公司正在一项全面可行性研究中最终敲定价格标签和产能大小，在未来三个月内完成。他预测，电池材料的价格在未来一年将缓慢回升，并在2026年至2027年恢复强劲增长趋势，这是因为生产过剩将会转变为短缺。
虽然锂价较低，但Barnard称Huayou和Tsingshan的经济模型显示，即使在当前价格下，他们仍将是一个盈利业务。这两家公司均未对采访请求做出回复。
过去两年里，由于锂价上涨引发的一系列交易活动，赞比亚已成为了重要的锂生产国之一。其中一家Huayou的子公司投资超过7亿美元购买和建设资产，另一家Tsingshan则开发了较小规模的Gwanda项目。据CRU Group估计，今年该国将贡献全球矿产供应量的大约10%。
作为电池材料制造商，Huayou还拥有刚果民主共和国的钴项目，并在印度尼西亚生产镍。世界顶级不锈钢和镍生产商Tsingshan已在中国赞比亚建立钢铁厂，并拥有一家为电动汽车制造电池的子公司。
Huayou与Tsingshan协议不持有Sandawana项目的股份权益，而是计划在至少5年后并收回项目融资贷款后将资产回移给Kuvimba。据Barnard透露，两家公司的采买协议条款仍在商讨中。Kuvimba希望到明年年底前完成工厂的建设工作，这将是赞比亚最大的锂生产设施。
在与潜在投资者讨论两个更早期阶段项目的同时，Kuvimba已将Sandawana分为三个区块进行勘探开发。其中一个区块的过去是一处已废弃的翡翠矿场，在20世纪运营了几十年。近年来，赞比亚已经转向了在该地寻找铁矿石和钽矿物，并最终转为锂资源的探索。
Kuvimba正与其他投资者讨论这两个更早期阶段项目的进一步投资机会，其中包括英国商人Mike Tholen的企业。Tholen是北海油气工业先驱之一，在非洲多个国家包括赞比亚运营过采矿项目。
新闻来源：www.bloomberg.com
原文地址：China Mining Firms Partner with Zimbabwe on Lithium Mine
新闻日期：2024-09-24
原文摘要：
Chinese miners and are defying low lithium prices to develop a deposit of the battery metal with a Zimbabwean state company. The two firms already operate lithium projects in the southern African country and will complete a study before building a mine and processing plant at Sandawana, in the country’s south, according to the chief executive officer of , the state-owned firm that owns the asset. Kuvimba had the deal in July, without naming the partners.Although tumbling lithium spot prices – down almost 90% since late 2022 – have triggered some production and deferrals around the world, Chinese companies continue to look for feedstock to supply refineries at home.Huayou and Tsingshan’s construction plans would cost $250-$300 million and produce about 500,000 tons of lithium concentrate a year, Kuvimba’s acting CEO, Trevor Barnard, said in an interview, citing a previous study. The companies are finalizing the price tag and output capacity in a more comprehensive feasibility study due to be completed within three months, he said. Prices for the battery material will likely pick up slowly in the next year before recovering strongly from 2026 and 2027 as production surpluses give way to deficits, Barnard said. Despite that, “our economics show to us that we will still be a profitable business even at the current pricing levels,” he said.Huayou and Tsingshan didn’t respond to request for comments.Zimbabwe has emerged as a significant producer of lithium in the last two years after a spike in prices through 2021 and 2022 fueled a wave of transactions by Chinese firms, including and A Huayou unit has invested more than $700 million to buy and build the , while Tsingshan has developed the smaller Gwanda project.The country will account for about 10% of global mined supply this year, according to CRU Group.A manufacturer of battery materials, Huayou also owns cobalt projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and produces nickel in Indonesia. Tsingshan, the world’s top producer of stainless steel and nickel with a new steelworks in Zimbabwe, is expanding its presence in lithium mining and has a subsidiary that makes batteries for electric vehicles.Read more: Instead of owning equity in Sandawana, Barnard said Huayou and Tsingshan have agreed to transfer the asset back to Kuvimba after a minimum of five years and recouping the loan that will finance the project. The terms of an offtake contract with the two companies are still under negotiation, according to the CEO. Kuvimba wants construction of the plant — which is set to become the largest producer of lithium in Zimbabwe — to be finished by the end of next year, he said.Read more: Sandawana was the site of a moth-balled emerald mine that ran for several decades last century. More recently, Zimbabwe has sought to find iron ore and tantalum at the site before turning their attentions to lithium.Kuvimba, which has divided Sandawana into three blocks, is discussing two other earlier-stage projects that require further exploration with potential investors, including a firm belonging to British businessman , who helped pioneer the North Sea oil and gas industry and has run mining projects in African countries including Zimbabwe.
