Families affected by the development of Zimbabwe’s US$313 million Sandawana lithium processing plant have begun moving, with the company behind the project reporting steady progress on a 104-house relocation programme.
Mutapa Energy Resources (MER) general manager Andrew Mboma said seven demonstration and relocation homes were already finished, while construction of another 97 units was at an advanced stage. Each completed house has three bedrooms, a kitchen and ablution facilities.
Two households have so far accepted relocation, according to MER, which says the process is being carried out with the consent and involvement of the families concerned. The remaining households are expected to move as more units are handed over.
Graves exhumed and reburied
The programme extends beyond living households. Surveys of the project area identified 52 known graves and 15 unknown graves, prompting the company to draw up formal protocols for exhumation and reburial with the Registry Department and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe.
Two cemeteries have since been established and compensation has been paid to affected families. A total of 24 graves have been relocated so far, with the exercise continuing under the agreed procedures.
Heifers and irrigation land for affected households
As part of its package for displaced families, MER has procured 85 heifers. Land has also been set aside for irrigation, and the Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Service (ARDAS) has been brought in to provide technical guidance on how it should be utilised.
ARDAS officers assessed the identified land on 24 and 25 September, and their report is expected by 1 October. The outcome will shape how plots are allocated and prepared for farming.
Access road opens up the corridor
Work on a 52-kilometre access road linking York to Sandawana via Mangena Shopping Centre is progressing under MER’s management, with three contractors each handling an equal stretch in a bid to finish before the rainy season.
- Fossil Contracting is building the Yorks to Zverenje Turn-Off section.
- SM Projects is responsible for the Zverenje Turn-Off to Chebvute stretch.
- Masimba Holdings is working on the Chebvute to Sandawana Mines section.
All three contractors are fully mobilised on site and have collectively employed more than 120 people drawn from surrounding communities. MER said the hiring drive is consistent with Sandawana Mines’ policy of promoting community participation, household income generation and skills transfer along the project corridor.
School, clinic and police post in the pipeline
Community infrastructure is also being rolled out. A new primary school is at tender stage, with completion targeted before the end of 2026. Designs for a medical centre and a police station are being developed, and MER says it has engaged the Department of Public Works to accelerate the process.
Engineers, architects and quantity surveyors from the department are expected on site for a week starting 28 September to push the designs forward.
Why the Sandawana project matters
Lithium has become one of Zimbabwe’s most closely watched minerals, and the Sandawana venture is part of a broader push to build local processing capacity rather than exporting raw ore. That shift brings both revenue and disruption, particularly for communities sitting on or near the deposits.
How the relocation is handled at Sandawana is likely to be watched as a test case for how mining firms balance extraction targets with the obligations they owe to the families who have to make way for them.
