Kuvimba Mining House tables US$950 million bid for...

Kuvimba Mining House tables US$950 million bid for projects development

Oscar J Jeke

Zim Now Reporter

Kuvimba Mining House is seeking to raise US$950 million to develop lithium, platinum, and gold projects, a year after the government took full control of the company.

The mining entity, under its new Chief Executive Officer Trevor Barnard, is engaging development banks, mining companies, and major commodity traders to secure the required funding. “Access to all the large development banks, to all the funding, to all the major traders has just opened up,” Barnard said in an interview with a local publication, adding that the change in ownership structure had been beneficial for Kuvimba.

A significant portion of the funds will be allocated to the long-delayed Darwendale platinum project, which will be developed into an underground mine. The company also plans to fast-track a lithium project at Sandawana, estimated to cost US$275 million. Barnard revealed that Kuvimba has entered into a joint venture with Chinese mining firms, with the deal set to be finalized by March 2025.

“It will take about 15 months after signing to start production, which will eventually reach 500,000 tons of lithium concentrate per annum,” he said. The Chinese partners will finance the project, and ownership will revert to Kuvimba once the loan is repaid, a process expected to take less than five years.

Kuvimba’s latest efforts come after previous attempts to raise capital were hampered by concerns over the company’s ownership structure. Speculation over the involvement of politically connected businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who was sanctioned by the US and the UK for alleged corruption, had raised investor uncertainty