ZimNow News Desk
Zimbabwe’s lithium producers have asked Government to extend the deadline for the planned ban on lithium concentrate exports, saying miners need more time to complete local processing facilities.
The ban is due to take effect in January 2027 as part of Zimbabwe’s push to retain more value from its lithium resources through local beneficiation.
Zimbabwe is Africa’s leading lithium producer and has been pressing mining companies to move beyond the export of concentrates into local processing of the battery mineral.
Lithium Producers’ Association chairperson Innocent Rukweza told a mining conference in Victoria Falls that major producers were at different stages of setting up lithium sulphate plants.
He said the industry was asking regulators to allow more time for ongoing work to be completed, suggesting that the deadline could be moved to June 2027.
“It is a strong appeal that we are presenting to our regulators, that we finalise the work that is going on and extend the beneficiation ban maybe to June next year,” Rukweza said.
“We plead that we be given just a little bit of leeway, because the deadline might be a bit tight,” he added.
Related Stories
According to the industry, only one lithium sulphate plant, owned by China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, has been completed and is already exporting chemicals.
Other major operations, including Sinomine’s Bikita Minerals and Sichuan Yahua’s Kamativi lithium mine, are still building lithium sulphate plants, while the State-owned Sandawana mine is conducting a processing feasibility study.
Government recently introduced lithium concentrate export quotas and a 16 percent tax on concentrate exports after an earlier temporary halt in shipments, citing mineral leakages.
The measures are part of a broader policy push to ensure Zimbabwe earns more from its mineral resources instead of exporting raw or semi-processed materials.
However, producers say the sector is facing high taxes, rising costs and policy uncertainty at a time when companies are trying to fund and complete processing investments.
Rukweza said the industry expects Zimbabwe to produce 344,000 metric tonnes of lithium sulphate annually by 2030 if the processing projects are completed.
Chinese firms dominate Zimbabwe’s lithium sector and have invested about US$2 billion since 2021.
Zimbabwe exported 1.13 million tonnes of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China in 2025, accounting for about 15 percent of China’s lithium concentrate imports for that year.
The request for more time sets up a key policy test for Zimbabwe: how to enforce beneficiation without slowing investment in the processing plants needed to make value addition possible.
Leave Comments