Sabi Star Mine 15MW plant nears completion

SABI Star Mine is nearing the completion of its US$25 million 15 MW thermal power plant, with plans to fully integrate the station in the second half of this year.

Currently, the Buhera based lithium mine operates on heavy-duty generators. However, due to the rising costs of diesel and maintenance, Sabi Star Mine is planning to transition to low-cost thermal power.

Sabi Star mine manager Oswald Makonese confirmed that construction work is nearing completion. “We made significant progress last year. Civil works are 80 per cent complete. We have already received all the machinery and equipment for the power plant. The remaining task is to assemble the power equipment. We are pleased with the progress so far,” he said.

Sabi Star Mine is planning to transition to low-cost thermal power.

Makonese stated that the thermal power plant will generate up to 15 MW of gross electrical pow er output. “The mine system requires 12 MW, and we plan to feed the additional 3 MW into the national grid for the benefit of the nearby community.

The project has already created employment for hundreds of people in Buhera. The development of this infrastructure will boost the local economy through to remove a significant percentage of the Sulphur dioxide contained within the flue gases to comply with current SI 72 of 2009 and SAZ ZSW 977. We anticipate that FGD will remove up to 99 percent of the particulate matter,” Makonese further explained.

For the past 20 years, Zimbabwe has struggled to generate enough electricity to meet demand and has had to rely on countries like the Democratic Repub lic of Congo, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia to supple ment supplies. Zimbabwe has one hydro power plant and four coal-fired generators Sabi Star Mine is planning to transition to low-cost thermal power. the income multiplier effect,” he added.

Addressing potential hazards of thermal affluent to nearby commu nities, Eng. Makonese assured that there is a plan in place to minimize this. “The plant has flue gas condi tioning equipment, including a 60 m tall chimney.

This includes a Flue Gas Desul phurization (FGD) system and electrostatic precipitators. The FGD process is designed with a total combined capacity of 2,240 MW, just enough to meet the country’s demand. However, the Kariba hydro plant, which commissioned another 300 MW in 2018, is only producing a third of its design output due to low dam water levels caused by drought.

Most miners, especially platinum producers, import their own power, securing production, but other smaller mines rely on the unstable national grid. This has led most upcoming mining projects to invest in power generation to avoid downtime.

Sabi Star Mine began as an exploration project in 2015, culminating in a bankable feasibility study completed in 2021, and preliminary construction works started in June 2022. The current delineated resource gives a Mine Life of 7 years, but the mine plans to double its Mine Life through its current exploration activities.

In May 2023, a record 11 months after inception and seven months ahead of schedule, the mine entered its testing phase. This is a record time compared to other international projects of similar size. Sabi Star lithium mine is one of the three biggest lithium projects in the country, and among a few big lithium mines in Africa.

However, what sets Sabi Star apart from the rest is that it holds the best grade of spodumene ore in Africa. At full production, Sabi Star Mine will produce 300 000 tonnes of con centrate per year, generating in excess of US$600 million for the nation at current prices.

In addition to generating much-need ed foreign currency for the country, Sabi Star Lithium Mine has also been active in community investment. At the peak of construction, the mine created employment for 1 000 employees, over 80 percent of whom came from local communities.

At present, Sabi Star still employs 600 people on various projects of the mine. Through the procurement of goods and services from local suppliers, several downstream businesses are expected to thrive in this district and be yond. Sabi Star is promoting the growth of the Provincial and National Gross Domestic Product.