Workers load lithium concentrate at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe mine
Zimbabwe has suspended exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates with immediate effect until further notice.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Polite Kambamura said the move includes all minerals “currently in transit.”
“Government expects cooperation of the mining industry on this measure which has been taken in the national interest,” the statement said.
“Government remains committed to ensuring transparency, in-country value addition and beneficiation, compliance, and accountability in the exportation of Zimbabwe’s mineral resources,” it added.
The export ban on lithium concentrates had originally been scheduled to come into effect in January 2027, a deadline the government hoped would push mining companies to begin processing and refining the mineral locally.
In a letter seen by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday and addressed to Zimbabwe’s Chamber of Mines, which represents major mining companies, the ministry said it would realign export processes due to concern about “continued malpractices during the exportation of minerals.”
“This review is part of a broader effort to curb leakages and enhance efficiency within our systems,” the ministry wrote on February 17.
Zimbabwe holds Africa’s largest lithium reserves, exporting 1.128 million metric tonnes of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate in the year ended December 2025, up 11 percent from the year before.
Most of the concentrate is exported to China for further processing into battery-grade materials, but Zimbabwe has been pressing the miners to process more of the minerals in the country as it seeks greater benefits from the global shift to cleaner sources of energy.
Securing access to rare earths and other strategic minerals has become a global priority, given their role in smartphones, green energy systems, military equipment and many other goods. This has prompted many producing nations to tighten controls and plug leaks in their supply chains.
Zimbabwe “will be engaging the industry in the near future on new expectations and way forward,” said Kambamura.
Mining is Zimbabwe’s second-largest contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, accounting for 14.3 percent of output after manufacturing, according to World Bank data.
Zimbabwe has rapidly expanded spodumene output in recent years following significant investment by Chinese mining firms, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium Group and Yahua.
Huayou recently built a $400m plant to further process lithium concentrates into lithium sulphate, an intermediate product which can be refined into a battery-grade material such as lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate.
Sinomine has also announced plans to build a $500m lithium sulphate plant at its Bikita mine in Zimbabwe.
