Premier African Minerals Limited has secured fresh capital and reported steady operational progress at its flagship Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Zimbabwe, as the company moves closer to full plant commissioning.

The AIM-listed mining firm completed a direct subscription expected to raise approximately £1 million before expenses through the issuance of more than 5.4 billion new ordinary shares priced at 0.0185 pence each. 

The funds will primarily support ongoing commissioning work at the Zulu Lithium flotation plant, operational costs, creditor management and general working capital requirements.

Managing Director Graham Hill said the company was encouraged by operational milestones achieved during early commissioning stages at the project.

“We are pleased with the continued progress being made at the new Zulu Lithium flotation plant, particularly the successful completion of the majority of cold commissioning activities utilising water through the circuit,” Hill said.

“Importantly, water has now been introduced through the new flotation plant, and we are encouraged by the operational performance observed during these initial commissioning stages.”

The Zulu Lithium Project, located near Fort Rixon in Matabeleland South, remains one of Zimbabwe’s emerging hard-rock lithium developments, positioned to feed growing global demand for battery minerals.

Premier African Minerals confirmed that most cold commissioning activities across the flotation plant, crushing systems and milling circuits have now been completed using water testing to verify mechanical and operational readiness.

According to the company, conveyor systems have been restored to operation, while testing of newly installed bypass chutes — introduced to replace previously unused sorting equipment — has been successfully finalised. The crushing circuit has already been recommissioned using ore during these trials.

The company is now preparing to begin hot commissioning, the next critical phase involving the introduction of ore into the processing circuit.

“The Company is now preparing to transition into hot commissioning involving the introduction of ore into the circuit, representing another important milestone in the overall commissioning and optimisation process,” Hill said.

“Whilst commissioning activities naturally remain iterative in nature, we are encouraged that progress to date continues to support our commissioning timeline of Q2.”

During the current wet commissioning phase, flotation cell scraper paddles have not yet been connected, with installation expected to coincide with reagent addition and ore feed during spodumene recovery operations.

The newly issued subscription shares will rank equally with existing ordinary shares once admitted to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, with admission expected around 19 May 2026.

Premier African Minerals said proceeds from the capital raise would help sustain commissioning activities at Zulu Lithium while strengthening operational liquidity.

Following the share issue, the company’s total issued share capital will increase to more than 38.1 billion ordinary shares with voting rights, a figure shareholders may use when calculating disclosure obligations under Financial Conduct Authority transparency rules.

The latest funding injection comes at a pivotal moment for the company as it seeks to move the Zulu project from commissioning into stable production, a transition viewed by investors as key to unlocking long-term revenue generation.

With hot commissioning imminent, Premier African Minerals’ near-term focus now shifts to process optimisation and achieving consistent spodumene concentrate recovery as Zimbabwe continues positioning itself as a strategic player in the global lithium supply chain.