By Farai Maguwu
The true tragedy of Zimbabwe’s timid lithium tax reforms is not just their weakness; it’s their timing. These measures are being introduced when much of the country’s high-grade lithium has already been extracted and exported. Now, Chinese mining companies are calling for a two-year delay in implementing the new tax policy, a move that raises serious concerns.
The truth is, many of these firms have already hit peak production and anticipate having extracted the lion’s share of the valuable resource by the time the new rules kick in.
By 2027, several of these companies may be scaling down their operations, not due to lack of reserves, but because they’ve already maximized profits under the current unregulated framework. At present, there are no limits on how much lithium they can extract or export, giving Zimbabwe little to no control over production volumes or long-term sustainability.
The imbalance is striking. While Chinese firms clearly understand what they want from Zimbabwe’s lithium and are executing on it with precision, the Zimbabwean government appears uncertain about its own goals for the sector.
To protect long-term national interests, the government must act decisively.
1. Impose a Ban on Raw Lithium Exports
First, there must be a hard ban on the export of lithium concentrate, which should be classified as an unbeneficiated product. Allowing the continued export of raw lithium undermines any efforts to build a sustainable and value-generating lithium economy.
2. Build a Strategic Lithium Value Chain
Second, Zimbabwe should actively seek out and engage industry players capable of helping the country build a full lithium value chain — from beneficiation to battery production. But this should not be the responsibility of mining companies alone. As their name suggests, they are in the business of extracting minerals, not manufacturing lithium-ion batteries or solar panels. Expecting them to transform overnight into technology producers is unrealistic and will likely fail in the short to medium term.
Instead, the government must foster partnerships with downstream players — technology firms, battery manufacturers, and energy innovators — who can help develop complex, value-adding industries around lithium. These partnerships could be formed through investment incentives, joint ventures, or strategic infrastructure support.
Zimbabwe has a critical window to define how it benefits from its lithium reserves. That window is closing fast. If the government doesn’t act with urgency and clarity, the country risks ending up with empty mines and lost opportunities, watching others walk away with the real value.
Government’s Position
What the Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, Winston Chitando, said on Tuesday, 10 June, during a post-Cabinet briefing, on the policy interventions targeting lithium.
His comments on the Lithium Sub-sector, where Zimbabwe produces mostly Spodumene ores, which are critical in the new energy drive. Zimbabwe’s lithium ore bodies are multi-element as they contain several minerals. Bikita Minerals and Arcadia Lithium are in the process of establishing lithium sulphate value addition facilities to beneficiate the lithium ores produced locally.
“Zimbabwe is banning lithium ore exports and transitioning to value-added lithium sulphate production, with two major players establishing plants. From January 2027, exporting lithium concentrates will be prohibited.
“With respect to lithium, first and foremost, the export of lithium ores was banned by the government, and now, all exports are in the form of lithium concentrate.
“We do have two major players being Bikita Minerals and Prospect Lithium, Zimbabwe, who are in the process of establishing lithium sulphate plants. These value-added facilities, which will value-add from lithium of concentrate to lithium sulphate, and amongst other uses, lithium sulphate is a direct input into battery making.
“So, we are really moving as a country towards producing or upgrading our spodumene lithium. We are moving to a stage where we are upgrading our lithium production to lithium sulphate, where, among its other uses, is a direct input into battery making,” said Chitando.
He added, “So, because of that capacity, which is now in the country, the export of all lithium concentrates will be banned from January 2027. So come January 2027, no player will be allowed to, to export lithium concentrates.”
Our Response as CNRG
The Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) is deeply concerned by the ongoing mass export of unprocessed lithium, with reports indicating up to 3,000 tons of ore leaving Zimbabwe daily. While we acknowledge the government’s recent announcement to ban lithium concentrate exports by January 2027, we believe this is a step in the right direction, taken too late.
By the time this policy comes into effect, over 1.6 million tons of raw lithium may have already left the country, enriching foreign interests while local communities are left behind, displaced, disenfranchised, and increasingly vulnerable.
Our latest Press Statement calls for immediate government action, including:
-An immediate moratorium on raw lithium exports
-An accelerated rollout of value addition and beneficiation policies, and
-Stronger protections for communities facing environmental degradation and social dislocation.
Zimbabwe must act now to harness its lithium wealth for national development, not to deepen extraction injustices.