Max Mind Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

Current position

Assessment

Sabi Star Lithium-Tantalum Mine is operated by Max Mind Investments (Zimbabwe). Chengxin Lithium gained indirect control through the acquisition of a 51 per cent interest in Max Mind Hong Kong in 2021; Chengxin's August 2026 announcement describes the Zimbabwean entity as a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary, and Koussi records the difference without resolving it. Chengxin and Canmax acquired the asset for US$77 million in 2021 and invested approximately US$130 million in mine development and a concentrator completed in 2023. Production began in May 2023 at an annual capacity of 990,000 tonnes of raw ore yielding approximately 290,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate. Five of forty mining claims are confirmed at an average grade of 1.98 per cent Li2O. The operation was listed among Zimbabwe's five active lithium mines by the Mines and Mining Development Minister on 25 August 2026. Existing processing capacity is concentration only, which produces the product the 1 January 2027 prohibition is directed at. On 24 August 2026 Chengxin Lithium announced a lithium sulphate project at Buhera District, Manicaland Province, to be implemented by Max Mind Investments (Zimbabwe), with planned annual capacity of 75,000 tonnes, total planned investment of approximately US$244 million, and a stated construction period of nineteen months. No construction start date has been published. On the company's own stated build duration, and assuming construction commenced on the date of announcement, the plant would complete in approximately March 2028, fourteen months after the prohibition takes effect. Koussi therefore assesses the operator as non-compliant rather than at risk: the announced route cannot deliver beneficiation capacity before the deadline on the proponent's own timeline. Mine location is reported inconsistently across sources as Buhera District in Manicaland, eastern Masvingo, and Mashonaland East; Koussi has not resolved this and records it as unresolved.

Facility

Stage

Operating

Production

Producing

Sources

1. 3.2 Billion Yuan! Chengxin Lithium Plans to Build Lithium Sulfate Projects in Zimbabwe and Nigeria
   EnergyTrend25 August 2026
2. Only large-scale lithium concentrate producers have been approved for export
   Mining Zimbabwe14 April 2026
3. Govt digs in on lithium sulphate directive
   The Herald (via Zimbabwe Situation)25 August 2026