[SMM News] Anson Resources Secures $193M Utah Incentive for Green River Lithium Project

Zimbabwe's ability to attract and retain mining investment depends on maintaining economic stability, infrastructure development and access to long-term capital, according to Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe mining and metals VP Tania Mandaza. Zimbabwe's lithium export restrictions, aimed at encouraging domestic processing, are already influencing investor capital allocation. Beneficiation requires higher upfront capital than raw ore export, and the policy is expected to encourage consolidation, with smaller miners pursuing toll-processing arrangements, joint ventures or acquisitions with larger operators. Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe funds mine development and processing plants, including lithium facilities, ferrochrome smelters and PGM refineries, and participates in syndicated financing, trade finance, guarantees, letters of credit and working-capital facilities. Demand for longer-tenor structured project finance is rising, with some projects requiring terms of up to seven years strongest currently for gold mine expansions on higher gold prices, alongside growing requests for processing-plant financing. Power supply security remains a key focus for the sector. The government has directed miners to develop their own power solutions, and the bank is funding renewable-energy transactions as well as public-private partnerships for rail and logistics revival. Beyond lithium, Mandaza cites PGMs, gold, chrome and nickel as offering investment opportunities, with rare earths a longer-term prospect. Nickel demand is being driven by EV and battery markets. Zimbabwe's gold output rose from 38.5 t in 2024 to 50.5 t in 2025, with about 55 t targeted this year; gold prices near $4,000/oz are drawing investor interest in local assets. Proposed reforms the Mines and Minerals Bill and a digital mining permit system aim to provide regulatory certainty on mining rights, taxation, foreign-currency rules and export policy. ESG requirements, spanning green energy, water and tailings management, emissions, community development and governance, are increasingly factored into financing decisions. Chinese investment is expected to remain significant in Zimbabwe's lithium sector, with additional interest emerging from the Middle East, the Americas and India, as investors broaden into processing and manufacturing to secure critical mineral supply chains. The export restrictions are reshaping Zimbabwe's position in the global spodumene supply chain: raw concentrate available for export is constrained near-term as beneficiation capacity develops, while the country's export profile is expected to shift toward higher value processed lithium products over time.

The LibertyStream, targeting status as one of North America's first commercial producers of lithium carbonate from oilfield brine, has signed a non-binding term sheet with Endurance Finance Partners as arranger for a proposed financing framework of up to $95 million. The framework includes a delayed-draw senior secured construction credit facility to fund construction of Freedom 1 and Freedom 2, plus a future-site financing framework under which Endurance could provide additional financing for future LibertyStream sites, evaluated on a site-by-site basis. The facility would be drawn against certified construction milestones, carry 12.25% annual interest, and mature five years after execution of definitive agreements. Terms also include fees, minimum-return protections, and warrants for up to 10% of the initial $45 million facility for Freedom 1 and Freedom 2, exercisable for seven years, with final warrant terms to be set in definitive agreements. Funding remains subject to due diligence, credit approvals, definitive agreements, an investment commitment from LibertyStream, project agreements, and regulatory approvals. Freedom 1 is LibertyStream's first commercial-scale direct lithium extraction plant, planned to produce 1,000 t/y of battery-grade lithium carbonate in Texas new capacity that would add to emerging North American brine-based lithium carbonate supply.