HARARE, Oct 8 – Zimbabwe generated $2.16 billion from lithium exports in the nine months to September 30, nearly four times the value recorded during the whole of the previous year, according to the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ).
The sharp increase was driven primarily by a 283% rise in the price of spodumene concentrate, a lithium-bearing mineral that serves as a major source of the battery metal, MMCZ General Manager Nomusa Moyo said during a briefing.
Spodumene accounted for approximately $1.8 billion of Zimbabwe’s lithium export earnings during the period. Petalite, another lithium-bearing mineral, generated a further $155 million.
The country also earned $190 million from lithium sulphate, a processed chemical used as an intermediate material in the production of battery-grade lithium compounds.
Processing Expands
Zimbabwe’s lithium industry is gradually shifting beyond the export of raw and concentrated material as producers increase domestic processing capacity.
China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt began exporting lithium sulphate from its Zimbabwean operation in April after completing a $400 million lithium salt plant, described as Africa’s first facility of its kind.
Approximately 33,000 metric tons of lithium sulphate had been exported by the end of September, according to the MMCZ.
The expansion of lithium processing is adding value to Zimbabwe’s mineral exports while strengthening the country’s position in the global battery-material supply chain.
Lithium Overtakes PGMs
Lithium products have now overtaken platinum group metals (PGMs) as Zimbabwe’s largest mineral export category after gold. PGM sales totaled approximately $1.73 billion during the nine months to September 30, below lithium’s $2.16 billion.
Overall mineral sales excluding gold doubled to $4.74 billion compared with the same period last year, underscoring the growing contribution of battery minerals to Zimbabwe’s mining economy.
China remains the dominant destination for Zimbabwe’s lithium exports, with Chinese companies playing a major role across the country’s lithium mining and processing industry.
Companies including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, Sichuan Yahua, Chengxin Lithium Group and Tsingshan Holding Group have invested approximately $2 billion in Zimbabwe since 2021.
The scale of Chinese investment has made Zimbabwe an increasingly important source of lithium materials for China’s battery and electric-vehicle supply chains, while the expansion of local processing is giving the country a larger role beyond the export of mineral concentrates.
