Chinese Lithium Mine Drives Rural Zimbabwe Renewal
For much of her adult life, 54-year-old Felistas Rutanhira’s sewing skills were idle. The family breadwinner stitched clothes when she could, but orders were few, food was scarce and school fees for her four children often went unpaid. When a Chinese-owned lithium mine in Goromonzi in rural Zimbabwe invited her to join a women’s sewing project, it changed her life. “For the first time in decades, I no longer wonder where the next meal will come from,” she says.
The invitation from Arcadia Lithium mine owner Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ), a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed Huayou Cobalt Co. Limited, to join the newly launched Goromonzi Women in Action Group in November 2024,representedRutanhira’s first formal job.
“They called us and told us they wanted to empower women in Goromonzi through sewing and other projects,” says Rutanhira. “They said we would be sewing uniforms for mine workers, school uniforms and other things.”
In Zimbabwe, where nearly one in eight people are unemployed, the program provides more than just steady income. “It has restored my sense of dignity and control over my family’s future,” Rutanhira comments.
Her story is part of a larger shift taking place in Goromonzi. Lithium mining, once feared as another potential resource curse, is instead being reframed as a vehicle for local development.
The Arcadia Lithium mine has even been awarded a spot in the 2025 Innovative Cases of Business for Good at the Family Philanthropy Inheritance Exchange Conference, acknowledging the mine's community development efforts in its host community of Goromonzi, some 20km east of Zimbabwe’s capital city Harare.
Through corporate social responsibility initiatives like the Women in Action Group and the Skills Development Programme, PLZ is giving back to the communities in which it operates.
Its initiatives function through the Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) developed in 2013under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act. CSOTs were created to ensure mining host communities received a 10% shareholding in companies extracting their local resources. Profits were to be used to fund roads, clinics, schools and other infrastructure.
Although the Finance Act of 2018 dismantled the legal framework that originally supported CSOTs, PLZ is spearheading community developmental projects in Goromonzi, despite the lack of a legally binding framework.
From Resource Curse to Opportunity
Zimbabwe’s mining history is rich but historically unequal. The country is home to vast mineral resources including diamonds, gold, platinum and coal. Yet for decades the communities hosting mining projects have remained the poorest in the country as the profits from resources were taken abroad. Profitable mining operations left little in their wake besides potholed road, underfunded schools and limited job opportunities.
Now, a global rush for green energy minerals is creating the space for a different approach. Zimbabwe’s possession of the world’s fifth-largest lithium reserves, a key component in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, has attracted major Chinese investors. Among them is Huayou Cobalt Co. Limited, which is rolling out programs to ensure lithium mining benefits shareholders and neighbouring communities.
Initially developed by Australian Prospect Resources, Arcadia Lithium was acquired by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt in 2022 for $378 million. It is made up of six claims which cover an area extending over 14km².In August 2022, PLZ invested US$275 million to set up a lithium processing facility, completing the project in March 2023. The plant has created over 1,200 direct jobs, many of them locally sourced. The miner exports the semi-processed lithium concentrate primarily to China.
Community Transformation in Goromonzi
The Goromonzi community has experienced a striking shift in the past few years. Newly built classroom blocks and teachers' houses stand where crumbling walls once existed. Solar lights flash at local shopping centers, while fresh gravel crunches underfoot on rehabilitated roads. Ambulances donated by the mine are parked outside a local health facility.
Voices from the community reflect hope about the benefits mining brings.
A 10-year-old boy at Vhuta, one of the schools built by the mine, shares, “It used to be tough when we didn’t have enough classroom blocks, especially during the rainy season.”
Another community member, who only identifies herself only as Chihera, expresses gratitude, “We appreciate the solar lights they have installed and the ambulances they donated. Our health system is struggling, and having ambulances to save lives in emergencies is the best thing they could do.”
Local leadership also recognizes the impact of skills development in the community. Highlighting a youth skills training program Peter Million, councilor for Ward 13 in Vhuta, Goromonzi North, says, “They’re training our youths to operate heavy machinery, and many are employed by the company after training.”
One such beneficiary is 25-year-old Collin Mairos, who was trained to operate a forklift and front loader. “We received incentives during training which motivated us. After completing the program, we were employed permanently by the mine,” he comments.
For 65-year-old Saviria Chikomo from Kirinoki village, the women’s sewing project has been a lifeline for her too. “I’m experienced now and have helped younger women who want to join. It has enabled me to support my family.”
Standing at the edge of the freshly tarred road, Million smiles as he watches taxi buses passing. The new stretch linking Goromonzi to the main highway has connected the community to the outside world. Traders, buses and visitors are now flowing in where only dust and potholes stood before.
Many residents feel the changes are not just about convenience but about opportunity. However, amid the buzz of optimism there remains some trepidation as to how far and lasting the benefits of these rapid changes will be.
Nonetheless, member of Parliament for the Goromonzi North constituency, Ozias Bvuteis upbeat about the mine’s role in shaping the district’s future. “China’s growing footprint in Africa has often drawn criticism. Western media and policy circles have accused Beijing of pursuing debt diplomacy fueling corruption and replicating extractive patterns under a different flag.”
“We are tired of being told we are victims,” Bvuteasserts. “Acardia Lithium came and listened. They didn’t just take, they gave back. If this model could be applied in all other mining communities, it would be a significant force for growth.”
Breaking With the Past
Goromonzi’s overall traditional leader Senator Witness Bungu, known as Chief Chikwaka, says the community’s voice was little more than an afterthought under the mine’s previous owner, Australian Prospect Resource.
“The previous owners never consulted us as community leaders,” Chief Chikwaka recalls. “They only came to us after they discovered graves that needed to be relocated through our traditional rites.”
Bvute shares these sentiments. “Our relationship with the previous owner was extremely cold, but the Chinese entity that bought the Arcadia lithium mine has been extremely respectful. They have taken corporate social responsibility extremely seriously,” Bvute adds “I don’t think any other corporate within Goromonzi North has been so responsive and responsible.”
Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZIDAWMU) Secretary General Justine Chinhema says that Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.’s investment has not only cemented Zimbabwe’s role in the global green energy race but has also brought a new approach to community engagement.
“We are happy with the engagement that is currently taking place,” she says.
Challenges and Criticisms
Not all community members are enthusiastic about the company’s efforts in Goromonzi. “They have tried,” one resident at the Majuru shopping center comments, “but we still feel the number of trucks leaving the mine with our stones does not match what they are giving back.”
Chief Chikwaka, says, “They have built and renovated schools especially in areas immediately close to the mine. We have also witnessed revamping of roads, though we are not happy that they delayed official commissioning of the ambulances that they bought for the community.”
He acknowledges the mine’s contributions but points to promises still waiting to be fulfilled. “They have not yet constructed or installed solar power at the chief’s council as agreed,” he said. “And I believe they should extend development to other wards beyond their immediate boundaries, especially when it comes to road construction.”
The chief also expressed frustration over what he described as a lack of appreciation from certain community members. “Some are employed by the mine but end up stealing from it,” he lamented. He further urged the company to “promote local talent into leadership roles,” noting that “many key positions are occupied either by Chinese nationals or people from other provinces despite the presence of qualified locals.”
These concerns were echoed by Centre for Natural Resource Governance founding director Farai Maguwu. He stressed the need for greater transparency in selecting beneficiaries of the mine’s programs. “We denounce any political interference,” he said.
In contrast, ZIDAWMU’s Chinhema said “So far, conditions are normal but as a trade union we continue to push for further improvements.”
Plotting a Blueprint
Goromonzi is no longer isolated, but the way forward remains to be seen. As the world races to secure critical minerals for electric vehicles and renewable energy, Zimbabwe’s lithium reserves have become a strategic prize.
Whether the Arcadia Lithium model of social programs and infrastructure development becomes a national blueprint or a missed opportunity will depend on the balance of community development gains and investor accountability. If successful, it could help to reframe the continent’s long history of resource extraction.
For Rutanhira, the mine’s impact is deeply personal. “This is just the beginning of better things to come,” she says, her voice full of hope. “I will forever be indebted to the mine for the opportunity they gave me. It has truly transformed my life.”