Lithium mining in DRC could make it a top global supplier
By Muriel Devey Malu-Malu
Although it does not yet produce lithium, the Democratic Republic of Congo looks set to become one of the world’s suppliers of this metal, classified as strategic by the Congolese authorities in 2018, by as early as 2022.
In the provinces of Tanganyika and Haut-Lomami, in the south-east of the DRC, there is a rich reserve of “spodumene-rich pegmatite-type rocks”. These contain a lithium mineral associated with a stannocoltanian ore.
However, during the colonial era and right up until 1982, only tin was extracted from them. It was not until the 2010s that the DRC became interested in lithium and granted mining companies the first extracts containing evidence of this metal, which is now classified as a strategic mineral.
The new mining code passed by the Congolese government in 2018 identifies four “strategic metals”: cobalt, coltan, germanium and lithium, for which it has introduced an increase in royalties from 2% to 10%.
Boosted by the increase in global demand for lithium (used, among other things, to manufacture batteries), several companies have already mobilised in the sector. Two of these – in joint venture with the Congolese mining company Cominière – are in an advanced development phase.
Australians and Chinese on the front line
In Tanganyika, Dathcom Mining – a partnership between Australian AVZ Minerals (75%) and Cominière – is developing the Manono project (lithium and tin). In addition to its metal-rich 44.6 million tonnes of proven lithium reserves and 48.5 million tonnes of probable reserves, the future mine is expected to have one of the smallest carbon footprints in the world compared to similar lithium projects, thanks to the energy from the Mpiana-Mwanga hydroelectric plant.
On the strength of these assets, AVZ Minerals – whose shareholders include China’s Huayou Cobalt Company and Yibin Tianyi Lithium – has signed several mineral offtake agreements with Chinese groups: in late December 2020 with GFL International (a subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium) and last March with Shenzhen Chengxin Lithium and Yibin Tianyi Lithium Industry Co.
The Dathcom Mining site could start production in early 2023, with an expected annual volume of 700,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate (SC6, for the production of lithium hydroxide and carbonate) and more than 45,000 tonnes of primary lithium sulphate.