Latest news with #TsingshanHoldingGroup
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Lithium output in Zimbabwe could rise with Sandawana mine by 2027
Zimbabwe's lithium sector delivered 2.4 million tons of concentrate in 2024, more than tripling the previous year's output of 745,455 tons. Authorities project 3.26 million tons in 2025, driven by the launch of new mines and strong investment from Chinese companies. Sandawana follows this trend. Kuvimba has partnered with two Chinese firms for the project, which is expected to cost $270 million. Barnard did not name the partners in the latest announcement, but previously mentioned Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Tsingshan Holding Group as collaborators in a 2024 interview with Bloomberg. This wave of new lithium projects comes amid rising global demand for the metal, which is essential for energy transition technologies. The International Energy Agency estimates that around 55 new lithium mines will be needed by 2035 to meet demand. Zimbabwe could play a role in closing that supply gap, provided new projects stay on track and output remains strong. For Sandawana, securing funding is the next key step. Kuvimba is continuing talks with its Chinese partners to finalize financing. Despite a prolonged slump in global lithium prices, down about 80% since 2023 due to oversupply, Barnard remains confident that prices will recover by the time Sandawana begins operations. © Copyright The Zimbabwean. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Zawya
5 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Zimbabwe aims to break ground for $270mln new lithium plant this year
Zimbabwe's Kuvimba Mining House will begin construction of a $270 million lithium concentration plant at its Sandawana mine in the third quarter of this year, with commissioning expected in early 2027, CEO Trevor Barnard said. The state-owned miner is partnering with two Chinese metals giants to build the 600,000 metric ton per year lithium concentrator. The two firms will build and operate the plant for a minimum of five years, before transferring it back to Kuvimba. Barnard declined to name the companies, citing ongoing talks. "We are still finalising the last few agreements that we need to put in place and making sure we have all the necessary and compatible industry conditions for our partner to start construction," Barnard told reporters. "We are looking at breaking ground in the third quarter," he added. Kuvimba, which has been stockpiling lithium ore at Sandawana, has been hauling some of it to a processing plant in Gwanda, owned by Chinese nickel and steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group. Barnard said the targeted completion of the Sandawana lithium concentrator could coincide with a recovery in the price of the battery metal. A supply glut mainly driven by Chinese output has caused lithium prices to plunge nearly 90% over the past two years, forcing miners to halt projects and cut jobs. However, analysts say those production cuts and robust electric vehicle sales in China could propel lithium demand above supply this year. "Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentration plant to be in production," Barnard said. Zimbabwe, Africa's top lithium producer, has said it will ban the export of lithium concentrates from 2027 to push for more local processing. By then, the government expects Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine to have completed facilities for further processing in the country. (Reporting by Chris Takudzwa Muronzi. Editing by Nelson Banya and Mark Potter)
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Zimbabwe aims to break ground for $270 million new lithium plant this year
Zimbabwe's Kuvimba Mining House will begin construction of a $270 million lithium concentration plant at its Sandawana mine in the third quarter of this year, with commissioning expected in early 2027, CEO Trevor Barnard said. The state-owned miner is partnering with two Chinese metals giants to build the 600,000 metric ton per year lithium concentrator. The two firms will build and operate the plant for a minimum of five years, before transferring it back to Kuvimba. Barnard declined to name the companies, citing ongoing talks. "We are still finalising the last few agreements that we need to put in place and making sure we have all the necessary and compatible industry conditions for our partner to start construction," Barnard told reporters. "We are looking at breaking ground in the third quarter," he added. Kuvimba, which has been stockpiling lithium ore at Sandawana, has been hauling some of it to a processing plant in Gwanda, owned by Chinese nickel and steel giant Tsingshan Holding Group . Barnard said the targeted completion of the Sandawana lithium concentrator could coincide with a recovery in the price of the battery metal. A supply glut mainly driven by Chinese output has caused lithium prices to plunge nearly 90% over the past two years, forcing miners to halt projects and cut jobs. However, analysts say those production cuts and robust electric vehicle sales in China could propel lithium demand above supply this year. "Our forecast is that lithium prices will recover sometime in the year 2027, right at a point in time when we expect the concentration plant to be in production," Barnard said. Zimbabwe, Africa's top lithium producer, has said it will ban the export of lithium concentrates from 2027 to push for more local processing. By then, the government expects Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine to have completed facilities for further processing in the country.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Posco sells Chinese steel plant
South Korean steelmaker Posco Group has sold its majority stake in its Chinese steel joint venture, Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel Company (ZPSS), as part of a broader restructuring programme designed to focus or profitable businesses, according to local reports. The company is reported to have sold its 82.5% stake in stainless steel maker ZPSS to the local Tsingshan Holding Group, in a deal valued at around KRW 400 billion (US$ 291 million). China's Jiangsu Shagang Group is understood to still hold the remaining 17.5% of the equity in ZPSS. ZPSS, Posco's first overseas integrated stainless steel operation, has a production capacity of 1.1 million metric tons of steel per year – reportedly more than half of South Korea's total stainless steel output. Price competition in China's steel industry, where there is significant overcapacity, has kept margins low. Last year, under its chairman Chang In-hwa, Posco began to restructure its global operations to focus on high-growth regions, including the US and India, and to sell off its underperforming operations. "Posco sells Chinese steel plant" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Chinese tycoons are turning Indonesia into an aluminium giant
[LONDON/SINGAPORE] Chinese tycoons are turbo-charging Indonesia's aluminium industry with multi-billion dollar projects that rival the vast bets made on the country's nickel riches roughly a decade ago, and threaten to shake up the global market for the metal. Grappling with production curbs back home, companies such as billionaire Xiang Guangda's Tsingshan Holding Group, China Hongqiao Group and Song Jianbo's Shandong Nanshan Aluminum are turning to South-east Asia's largest economy, ploughing cash into new smelters and refineries. Goldman Sachs estimates Indonesian aluminium production could rise five times by the end of the decade. The question metals traders are now asking is whether Chinese capital can continue to pour investments into the country without ultimately tarnishing the outlook for the energy-intensive metal required for everything from soda cans to robotics and electric vehicles. Nickel provides a cautionary tale. Indonesia accounted for roughly 7 per cent of global mine production a decade ago, it now accounts for closer to 60 per cent, thanks to cheap coal power and Chinese smelters. Having underestimated that rapid rise, metals giants such as BHP Group have been forced to shutter operations in Australia and elsewhere. Even the Indonesian industry is now creaking under the weight of its own success. 'Over the next five years, Indonesia will become the focal point for the global aluminium industry' said Alan Clark, director of metals consultancy CM Group. 'It's really interesting to look at what's happened in the global nickel sector and compare it.' Granted, Indonesia's reserves of bauxite, the raw material used to produce aluminium, are nowhere near as large as the low-grade nickel riches that took the industry by storm thanks to technological innovation. They are still enough to support a sizeable smelting industry, backed by cheap labour and coal-fired power. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up For Indonesia's leaders, eager to develop a manufacturing sector that can provide employment and economic growth, the prospect of a repeat success is enticing, and motivated then-president Joko Widodo to ban the export of bauxite in 2023. His successor, Prabowo Subianto, has held firmly to a so-called 'downstreaming' policy he hopes will help fund sweeping ambitions including universal free school meals and the establishment of a massive sovereign wealth fund. A refinery typically costs around US$1 billion to build, a hefty bet, but it's a price worth paying for many Chinese companies eager to secure raw material. This year alone, three new alumina refineries, a key part of the aluminium production process, will begin working. At least another three are expected by the end of 2027, helping Indonesia's capacity rise more than five times and catapulting the country into the top ranks of world producers, according to consultancy CRU Group. And in smelting, Indonesia is also making great strides. Two plants are already operating in the country, and another four should be online by the end of the decade, according to Goldman Sachs. Indonesia's bauxite restrictions initially pushed China to buy from Guinea, the world's largest producer. But the West African country is flexing its own supply dominance by cancelling mining rights of firms that refuse to take the next step to construct refineries there, a move that only reinforced China's desire to diversify. Some Chinese metals tycoons are offering to bring their own plants piece by piece, or providing financial backing for local players unable to secure funding, according to Agustinus Tan, president director of bauxite producer Laman Mining. 'There are a few factories closing down, and they offered to acquire the machines,' said Tan, whose firm is looking to start building its own refinery next year. 'It's better to be far from the end product user than far from the raw material.' Among the larger Chinese investors is Tsingshan, the stainless steel conglomerate that led the breakneck expansion of Indonesia's nickel sector, thanks to dramatic scale and a ruthless focus on costs. Its first aluminium smelter was commissioned in 2023 and a significantly larger one is due to start production next year. 'When Tsingshan entered into aluminium, everyone was shocked,' said Andy Farida, an aluminium analyst at Fastmarkets. 'They are diversifying.' Much will depend on whether these firms will stick to their plans, even if economic headwinds continue to buffet the aluminium price in the near term. Citigroup analysts see minimal supply being added globally, including in Indonesia, if the metal stays close to its current levels around US$2,500 a tonne. 'Many in the market believe most of these plans will never materialise,' said Liu Defei, a veteran analyst formerly with miner Rio Tinto and Chinese researcher Antaike, pointing to questions around power supply. 'If smelters can't secure safe and affordable electricity – including cost-effective construction – they are at a dead end.' Coal, of which Indonesia has plenty, may again be called upon to power the industry, just as it did for nickel. But most critical of all will be Indonesia's ability to mine enough bauxite to feed the ambitions of China's metal men. 'I don't think we should doubt what the Chinese are able to do,' said Farida. 'If they are able to do what they did in nickel, it would not be surprising if the forecasts look far too low.' BLOOMBERG
