Zimbabwe to ban export of lithium concentrates from 2027
lithium concentrates
from 2027 as it extends its push for more local processing, mines minister Winston Chitando said on Tuesday.
Africa's top producer of lithium, used in batteries to power renewable energy technologies, banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and has been pushing miners to process more domestically.
Lithium miners in Zimbabwe, who are mostly from China, have been exporting concentrates to their home country.
Chitando said
lithium sulphate plants
were currently being developed at two Zimbabwean mines, Bikita Minerals, owned by
Sinomine
and Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt.
Lithium sulphate is an intermediate product which can be refined into a battery-grade material such as lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate used in battery manufacturing.
"Because of that capacity which is now in the country, the export of all lithium concentrates will be banned from January 2027," Chitando said during a media briefing following a weekly cabinet meeting.
In 2023, Zimbabwe gave lithium miners up to March 2024 to submit plans for developing local refineries, but softened its stance after prices of the metal collapsed.
Sinomine and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt are part of a group of Chinese firms, including
Chengxin Lithium Group
Yahua Group and Canmax Technologies, which have spent more than $1 billion since 2021 to acquire and develop lithium projects in Zimbabwe.
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