Why has Zimbabwe banned lithium export?
The largest lithium producer in Africa, Zimbabwe has suspended all raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports after the government alleged malpractices and leakages, raising concerns about stability of supply.
Zimbabwe on Wednesday suspended exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates with immediate effect after the government alleged malpractices and leakages.
The country’s mines ministry said the ban on exports would remain in place until further notice and applied to all minerals currently in transit.
Zimbabwe is the largest lithium producer in Africa and exported 1.128 million tonnes of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate in 2025, up 11 percent from a year before, with the bulk of the exported volume shipped to China.
"The government expects cooperation of the mining industry on this measure which has been taken in the national interest," the mines ministry statement said, Reuters reported.
"The government remains committed to ... in-country value addition and beneficiation, compliance, and accountability in the exportation of Zimbabwe's mineral resources," it added.
Low revenue in exports
Traditionally, Zimbabwe exported lithium ore and concentrates, semi-processed material that still needs refining into battery-grade chemicals like lithium carbonate or hydroxide.
Exporting raw concentrates fetches relatively low revenue because the highest-value manufacturing steps occur abroad.
Research by institutions, including the African Development Bank, has consistently shown that mineral-rich countries capture only a small fraction of total value when they export raw or semi-processed commodities. In the lithium value chain, the bulk of profits are realised at the refining and chemical conversion stages, where spodumene concentrate is turned into battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide, rather than at the mining stage.
World Bank commodity data also shows that unprocessed mineral exports, including ores and concentrates, remain dominated by raw output in many developing countries, leaving them exposed to global price swings and low profit margins compared with refining finished products.
Push for local processing
Zimbabwe wants to incentivise mining companies to build local processing and refining facilities, capturing more of the value chain inside the country rather than sending cheap feedstock overseas, the Zimbabwe Mail reported.
Export earnings from lithium concentrates have been flat in dollar terms, even as volumes have grown. But revenues didn’t grow proportionately, partly because global lithium prices have been volatile and below their boom highs.
The southern African country has rapidly expanded spodumene output in recent years following significant investment by Chinese mining firms including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium Group and Yahua.
Oversupply
Zimbabwe's ban on lithium concentrates was previously expected to come into effect in 2027 as part of a push for more local processing.
Mining is Zimbabwe's second‑largest contributor to the country's GDP, accounting for 14.3 percent of output after manufacturing, according to World Bank data.
Zimbabwe generated $513.8 million in spodumene export sales last year, marginally lower than $514.5 million the previous year due to softer prices.
The industry has struggled with oversupply of the metal used in battery storage, resulting in a price slump since late 2022.
Chinese projects
Lithium prices have however rallied since the second half of 2025, with a boom in battery storage mainly driven by China's power sector reforms bolstering the demand outlook for the metal in 2026.
Prices of hard rock spodumene have rebounded above $2,000 a tonne since the beginning of 2026, from four-year lows near $610 a tonne in June 2025. The mineral remains well below its 2022 peaks above $6,000.
Most of the concentrate is exported to China for further processing into battery-grade materials, but Zimbabwe has been pressing the miners to process more of the minerals in the country as it seeks greater benefits from the global shift to cleaner sources of energy.
Chinese company Huayou recently built a $400 million plant to further process lithium concentrates into lithium sulphate, an intermediate product which can be refined into a battery-grade material such as lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate.
Sinomine has also announced plans to build a $500 million lithium sulphate plant at its Bikita mine in Zimbabwe.
The export ban has raised concerns about the stability of raw material supply at a time when expectations of a boom in energy storage systems have driven a rally in lithium prices since the second half of 2025.