CHINA’S Zijin Mining will commence production at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first lithium operation in June, with exports following immediately, the company and state miner Cominiere told Reuters.
“Manono Lithium will produce its first tons in June, and exports will begin immediately after,” Cominiere MD Alpha Monga Mwidia said at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town.
The June timeline represents a delay from Zijin’s previous indication of a first-quarter 2026 start at Manono, one of the world’s largest undeveloped hard-rock lithium deposits, said Reuters.
The project sits at the centre of ongoing arbitration after Congo cancelled Australian miner AVZ’s permit and reassigned part of the site to Manono Lithium, a joint venture where Zijin holds 61% with Cominiere and the Congolese state owning the remainder.
AVZ declined to comment, though a source close to the company raised safety concerns over blasting conducted this week near areas where AVZ maintains staff.
The launch comes amid depressed lithium prices following an 86% collapse from late-2022 peaks, whilst the United States seeks to redirect Congolese critical minerals toward Western markets, challenging China’s African dominance.
Under the joint venture structure, Zijin will market all first-phase output, including Cominiere’s share. Mwidia said his company contributed nothing to the roughly $1bn project financing but will receive revenue according to its stake.
“The Chinese are more pragmatic,” Mwidia said, contrasting Zijin’s approach with US-backed KoBold Metals, which holds rights on the opposite side of the deposit but will not begin construction until ownership disputes are resolved.
