HARARE, July 21 – Zimbabwe has expanded its capacity to transport lithium concentrate by rail to Maputo Port in neighbouring Mozambique, marking a significant step towards improving export logistics for one of the country’s fastest-growing mining industries.
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR), a subsidiary of South Africa’s Grindrod Limited, and Zimbabwean logistics company Silvergill to facilitate the movement of lithium concentrate from mining operations to the Mozambican port.
The partnership has already enabled the first shipment of 1,000 metric tonnes of lithium concentrate from Tsingshan Holding Group’s Gwanda Lithium Mine, creating a rail-based export corridor that offers an alternative to road transportation.
Under the arrangement, the first 180-kilometre leg of the journey runs on BBR’s railway line between Gwanda and Beitbridge. From there, NRZ’s 300-kilometre railway connects Beitbridge to the Chicualacuala border crossing with Mozambique, before linking with the 522-kilometre Limpopo railway line to Maputo Port. The complete rail journey spans approximately 1,000 kilometres.
Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest producer of lithium, has traditionally relied on road transport to move the bulk mineral to export terminals, a method that has been more costly and frequently affected by logistical bottlenecks.
The expansion of rail transport comes as NRZ continues efforts to revive freight operations after decades of underinvestment. Freight volumes have fallen sharply from a peak of 12 million tonnes in the 1990s to approximately 2 million tonnes in 2025, prompting the state-owned railway operator to deepen collaborations with private logistics companies.
Most of Zimbabwe’s lithium mines are located along a west-to-southeast rail corridor leading towards Mozambique, making rail transport an increasingly attractive option for exporters.
Zimbabwe’s lithium industry has attracted significant investment from Chinese companies, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, Sichuan Yahua, Chengxin Lithium, and Tsingshan Holding Group, which have collectively invested an estimated $2 billion in mines and processing facilities since 2021.
According to industry data, Zimbabwe exported 1.13 million tonnes of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China in 2025, accounting for approximately 15% of China’s lithium concentrate imports during the year.
The government is also seeking to move the industry further up the battery minerals value chain by encouraging domestic processing. Producers expect exports of lithium sulphate, a key intermediate material used in the production of battery-grade lithium chemicals, to reach 344,000 tonnes by 2030 as processing capacity expands.
The new rail corridor is expected to improve the competitiveness of Zimbabwe’s lithium exports by reducing transport costs, easing supply chain constraints and supporting the country’s ambition to become a leading supplier of value-added battery minerals to global markets.
