Sichuan Yahua

Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group is a Chinese chemical and lithium company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It operates across two main segments: civil explosives and lithium products, the latter including lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate used in battery manufacturing. The company has expanded its lithium business to supply materials for the electric-vehicle battery supply chain, securing offtake agreements with major battery and carmakers. It has invested in lithium resource projects outside China, including in Africa, to secure upstream supply of spodumene and other lithium-bearing ores. Sichuan Yahua is one of several Chinese firms that have moved into critical-minerals mining and processing in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting China's strategy of securing battery raw materials. The company competes with other Chinese lithium processors such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Chengxin Lithium Group for access to African resources. Its activities are closely tied to the growth of the global electric-vehicle and energy-storage markets. The company is headquartered in Sichuan province, China. It has grown rapidly over the past decade as lithium demand surged with the expansion of battery manufacturing worldwide. Its investments in Zimbabwe fall under scrutiny by bodies such as the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe given the strategic importance of critical minerals to that country's economy.