HARARE, July 20 – Zimbabwe has reaffirmed that its planned ban on lithium concentrate exports will take effect in January 2027, despite concerns from mining companies that the country currently lacks sufficient processing capacity to handle all domestic production.
The announcement comes as Africa’s largest lithium producer accelerates efforts to shift from exporting raw minerals to producing higher-value battery materials locally, a strategy aimed at increasing export earnings and creating more jobs.
Currently, Zimbabwe has only one operational lithium sulphate processing plant, owned by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. However, company officials say the facility is only capable of processing material from its own mining operations.
During a visit by Mines and Mining Development Minister Polite Kambamura, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe Mine Manager Mthokozisi Goliath said the plant has no spare capacity to process lithium concentrate from other producers.
According to Goliath, “We don’t have the capacity to process other minerals from outside. Our concentrator plant produces around 400,000 tonnes per annum, so we don’t have space for other players.”
He added that “For now, this sulphate plant only has capacity that can manage what we produce at the concentrator plant.”
Despite these constraints, the government has ruled out delaying the export ban.
Speaking during the same visit, Minister Polite Kambamura reiterated the government’s commitment to the implementation timeline.
According to Kambamura, “The January 2027 deadline is still on. We cannot talk of extending right now. We would like to urge all producers to stick to that deadline.”
Several mining companies had appealed for additional time to complete local processing facilities before the restrictions take effect. However, authorities have maintained that producers should utilise domestic processing plants as part of Zimbabwe’s broader mineral beneficiation strategy.
Among the projects currently under development are new processing facilities being built by Sinomine Resource Group’s Bikita Minerals and Kamativi Mining Company, the Zimbabwean subsidiary of China’s Yahua Group. Both plants are expected to expand the country’s processing capacity, although neither is likely to be completed before the January 2027 deadline.
Chinese companies have become the dominant investors in Zimbabwe’s lithium industry, investing an estimated $2 billion in mining and processing assets since 2021. Those investments have strengthened China’s position within the global battery minerals supply chain while supporting Zimbabwe’s ambition to become a regional hub for lithium processing.
The government’s decision to proceed with the export ban highlights its determination to maximise value from one of the country’s fastest-growing mineral industries, even as the sector continues to build the infrastructure needed to support large-scale domestic processing.
