Can you give some details of from where you gathered those forecast production numbers?
For Arcadia I had a look at the November 2021 Direct Optomised Feasibility Study (DOFS) which was released one month before the project was sold to Chinese interests. In that DOFS it notes mine and process plant design to produce 147ktpa of Lithium Spod and 24ktpa of battery grade petalite (and some technical grade petalite not intended for battery purposes) from a plant designed to process 2.4Mtpa of ore. Offtakes are also noted in the announcement which match that kind of production output.
Oh and the operation is designed to output spod in 1T Bulka bags transported on flat bed trucks with transport over 600-1,500km depending on route and shipping port. That doesn’t sound like it was going to be producing 450 ktpa of spodumene but I’m keen to see what sources you’ve found for that number.
For Bikita I did find an article in “Mining Technology” noting completion of an upgrade of the facility to an output production of 300ktpa lithium spod but I can’t find anything about SC level. Another report (by Zidainvest) in April 2024 stated the new capacity is 270ktpa. A report from “miningzimbabwe” in Sept 2023 stated the target SC level was between 5 and 5.5. It also stated that the deposit was the biggest lithium deposit in the world at “11 million tonnes” (if that’s the deposit ore size I think they have the wrong number for that claim!). I’d say the output might be around the 280ktpa but it is possibly only SC5 material.
BUT then in something from “enviropresszim” published 17 May 2024 (which I’m having trouble opening) there is something about the operation having been “shut down” by the “EMA” so maybe it is not currently an operational facility? When I dug further I found an article about complaints by local population about dam water pollution, impacts on cropping, concerns about rate of water being drawn from a local dam essential for farming and water supply purposes … maybe there are issues there which could present problems for use of that lithium spod supply in EU passport destinations?
Sabi Star - I found an article which spoke about trucks rumbling down the road past displaced residents carry lithium ore (might be one you found?). It noted that the ultimate goal for the mine is for a facility which produces SC 5.5 spod with “an annual production of 900,000 tons of raw ore, which translates to approximately 200,000 tons of lithium concentrate”. So ultimately targeting 200ktpa at up to SC5.5. The mine and production plant are intended to be supported by a 15MW power plant to supply all power needs and make the operation “self-sufficient”. Another article states that the total power demands for the plant is 12MW and the balance 3MW will be fed to the national grid.
For comparison the hybrid power plant at Kathleen Valley is 95MW and the hybrid plant at Pilgangoora is I think 67MW capacity. I don’t think the Sabi Star output capacity is all that big…. But the same article has a company rep quoted to say “Sabi Star lithium mine is one of the three biggest lithium projects in the country, and among a few big lithium mines in Africa.” And also apparently has the best grade of lithium spod in Africa … hmm … and finally apparently its existing defined resources give it a mine life of 7 years., with a plan to expand that to double through more exploration … hmmm
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