Zimbabwe half-year lithium exports up 230%

Zimbabwe exported lithium products worth $782 million in the first six months of 2026, up from $237 million during the same period last year, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

The battery mineral accounted for about 12% of Zimbabwe’s mineral export revenue in the half year, behind only gold and platinum group metals.

Lithium’s share of Zimbabwe’s export revenue is expected to grow following the April commissioning of the country’s first plant producing higher value lithium sulphate as the government pushes Chinese miners, who dominate the sector, to process locally.

Zimbabwe will ban lithium concentrate exports from January 2027.

Total lithium production is expected to be 2.14 million metric tons in 2026, slightly lower than last year’s 2.2 million ton output, according to the ministry of finance’s half-year budget review.

This is after Zimbabwe temporarily halted lithium concentrate exports in February, citing leakages and malpractice by some exporters.

Zimbabwe’s state minerals export agency said the country exported 1.13 million tons in 2025. The official 2025 output points to significant stockpiles at the mines.

Chinese metals firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium Group, Sichuan Yahua and Tsingshan Holding Group, dominate Zimbabwe’s lithium mining and processing.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya and Chris Takudzwa Muronzi; Editing by Bill Berkrot)