Phatshwane was addressing the media recently. Zimbabwe, one of the world’s largest producers of lithium, has banned unprocessed export of the mineral that is highly sought-after globally for its use in the energy transition. The government there said it was losing a lot of money from exporting the raw mineral and not processing it into batteries. “The lithium deposits in Zimbabwe are a considerable opportunity for this operation,” Phatshwane said. “Lithium is actually one of the growth streams in the soda ash market globally. “This is because in processing lithium from its natural ore, you either have to convert lithium to lithium hydroxide which will mean that you use caustic soda which is made up of salt or you produce lithium carbonate which is made from soda ash.”
He added: “Currently, the ore is exported unprocessed to China. “I know that there are changes already (ban on unprocessed lithium). “Operators there are operating on a waiver. “Once the changes are in full swing, they (operators) are more likely to take the lithium carbonate route. “I do not see why Botash would not be competitive in delivering soda ash into Zimbabwe given it is the closest producer of soda ash.” Botash has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes for soda ash, though it currently produces about 280,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity for salt is 650,000 tonnes per year, including chemical grade, food grade coarse salt, and food grade fine salt. At present, salt production is approximately 420,000 tonnes annually, in line with market demand. Most of the soda ash is exported to South Africa, while the salt is primarily consumed locally and sold to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The company is also on course to diversify its product portfolio as part of its strategic roadmap which started last year and will be rolled out until 2027. Meanwhile, Phatshwane also told the media that the company is open to collaborating with other firms that want to benefit within the company’s value chain or line of products. “We collaborated with the failed glass plant in Palapye and volunteered our engineering time in the assessment of that project. “Had it succeeded it would have helped Botash’s business as well. “It is cheaper to sell to somebody in Palapye than in Johannesburg,” Phatshwane said.
He shot down the narrative that established businesses such as Botash often do not want to develop local industries. “That is not correct. It is a lot more profitable to trade with local firms. “The risk of crossing the border to do business is very high. “We are collaborating with a company in Selebi Phikwe that is developing a factory that will produce Sodium metabisulfite, a chemical used for processing copper. “SADC countries currently import it from China,” he said. Phatshwane added: "This is an example of businesses that can benefit from Botswana’s primary minerals. This is one of the businesses that was started by a citizen although he does not live in Botswana. A mine in the DRC is also a shareholder.”
