The Southern African nation joins other resource-rich countries seeking to boost local value creation.
Zimbabwe has immediately suspended the export of all unprocessed minerals and lithium concentrates — a move aimed at promoting domestic processing and value addition. According to several media reports, the Ministry of Mines justified the measure by citing “ongoing mismanagement and losses.” The decision comes amid widespread small-scale mining, much of it illegal, which has often caused environmental damage and economic losses for the state. Under the new rules, only licensed mining companies with approved processing facilities are permitted to export minerals.
Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest producer of the battery raw material lithium and one of the world’s leading producers of platinum group metals. Other key mining outputs include gold, chromium, and diamonds. Around 80% of the country’s exports come from this sector. Much of the raw material has historically been processed abroad, particularly in China, although Chinese companies have also invested in local refining capacities. The government has long pursued a strategy to increase domestic processing and benefit more from its natural resources. Already in 2022, strict export restrictions were imposed on unprocessed lithium; the current measures now extend to lithium concentrates, a partially refined form.
With this ban, Zimbabwe joins several other countries, including Namibia, Gabon, and Indonesia, in efforts to expand local value addition from their mineral wealth.
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