{"id":959998,"date":"2026-07-26T08:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T08:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/959998\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T08:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T08:14:17","slug":"can-zimbabwes-mineral-ambitions-benefit-smaller-producers-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/959998\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Zimbabwe\u2019s mineral ambitions benefit smaller producers? | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Harare, Zimbabwe \u2013<\/strong> Zimbabwe wants to move beyond being a supplier of raw minerals and build industries that process and manufacture from its own resources. But as the government tightens restrictions on unprocessed mineral exports, smaller miners are asking whether they will share in that transformation or be left behind.<\/p>\n

The government has restricted exports of unprocessed strategic minerals, including lithium, as part of a broader drive to increase domestic beneficiation. Authorities argue that Zimbabwe should capture more value from its mineral wealth instead of exporting raw materials and allowing other countries to profit from refining and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

The policy has attracted more than $1bn in investment into Zimbabwe\u2019s lithium value chain, according to government officials and industry representatives. But smaller miners warn that the cost of building processing facilities, unreliable electricity supplies and limited access to finance could make it difficult for them to participate in the country\u2019s industrial ambitions.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a technical media tour of Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (PLZ) in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East, on 17 July, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Polite Kambamura said Zimbabwe\u2019s 2022 ban on exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore had encouraged companies to invest in domestic beneficiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe construction of the first lithium sulphate plant in Africa is behind me, and this was done in Zimbabwe,\u201d Kambamura said.<\/p>\n

He said Zimbabwe\u2019s ambitions extended beyond lithium sulphate and lithium carbonate production, with a long-term goal of developing industries capable of manufacturing lithium batteries and solar panels locally.<\/p>\n

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, owned by China\u2019s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, said its lithium carbonate plant was about 90 percent complete.<\/p>\n

PLZ public relations officer Patience Mushore said Huayou\u2019s investments had generated more than $1.1bn in foreign exchange for Zimbabwe while expanding the country\u2019s lithium value chain.<\/p>\n

Policy shift<\/p>\n

Supporters of Zimbabwe\u2019s export restrictions argue that the country can no longer remain a supplier of raw minerals while other nations capture greater profits through refining and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Public policy expert Tedious Ncube said Zimbabwe\u2019s lithium sector demonstrated why the government had prioritised beneficiation.<\/p>\n

\"MechanicsMechanics work on a machine installed at Arcadia Lithium in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe [Tafadzwa Ufumeli\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n

He pointed to investments at Arcadia Mine and Bikita Minerals as examples of companies expanding Zimbabwe\u2019s lithium sector.<\/p>\n

Ncube said domestic processing could create skilled jobs, strengthen local suppliers and allow Zimbabwe to retain a greater share of the income generated from its mineral resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of Zimbabwe\u2019s lithium industry shows that the right policy can attract investment that builds industries, creates jobs and leaves a bigger share of mineral wealth in Zimbabwe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mining concerns<\/p>\n

For smaller producers, the debate is not whether Zimbabwe should process its minerals locally, but whether they will have the infrastructure, finance, and market access needed to participate.<\/p>\n

Shelton Lucas, business development director at Naivo Mining, said the company operates chrome, antimony and tungsten projects in Mashava, Ngezi and Kadoma but faces challenges accessing affordable processing options.<\/p>\n

Lucas said smaller producers were struggling to access processing capacity, particularly in the chrome sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our raw chrome, we are now forced to sell to local Chinese smelters where they underpay us. For antimony, I have the resources to build the value-addition plant, but for chrome I cannot because the plant is very expensive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said he supported domestic processing but warned that smaller miners could be excluded if new requirements were introduced without support mechanisms.<\/p>\n

Lucas proposed a toll-smelting system, where public institutions or industry bodies invest in shared processing facilities that miners can access at transparent rates while retaining ownership of their minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is not only building processing plants, but also ensuring smaller producers can access capacity on fair terms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Without such measures, he warned that a small number of companies could end up controlling processing capacity and market access.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf these companies also hold export rights, they could dictate prices to small-scale miners, creating what could become a predatory market that undermines the very people the mining sector is meant to empower,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Economic constraints<\/p>\n

Economists say Zimbabwe\u2019s processing ambitions will depend on whether the country can overcome longstanding challenges affecting mining and manufacturing.<\/p>\n

United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean economist Chenayi Mutambasere told Al Jazeera that the policy faced obstacles including power shortages, expensive financing, weak transport infrastructure, foreign exchange constraints and limited access to processing technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ban should be more than a political slogan; it should be an industrial practical strategy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"AA worker oversees operations at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe\u2019s (PLZ) three-line, single-phase lithium sulphate plant in Goromonzi, Mashonaland East [Enos Denhere\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

Mutambasere said the government needed to support the policy with reliable electricity, investor incentives, skills development and clear implementation timelines.<\/p>\n

She warned that restrictions introduced before the necessary support systems were in place could create unintended consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn abrupt ban where companies have invested in the sector may push the mining sector further underground, which could increase mineral leakage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Government vision<\/p>\n

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana told Al Jazeera that the policy was intended to ensure Zimbabwe gains more from its finite mineral resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is implementing this beneficiation policy in our minerals for the growth of our economy and to create a lasting legacy that will be witnessed by future generations,\u201d Mangwana said.<\/p>\n

He said the policy applied not only to lithium but also to other strategic minerals, including platinum group metals such as palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe\u2019s push reflects a wider debate among resource-rich countries: whether restricting raw exports can build domestic industries without concentrating opportunities among a few large companies.<\/p>\n

For smaller miners, the success of the strategy will depend not only on how much mineral processing takes place inside the country, but whether beneficiation creates broader participation or leaves only the biggest players able to compete.<\/p>\n

Lucas said the goal should be to ensure that local processing expands opportunities across the mining sector rather than creating new barriers for smaller producers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeneficiation should not become a barrier to participation. It should be an enabler of inclusive growth, industrial development and sustainable economic transformation,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harare, Zimbabwe \u2013 Zimbabwe wants to move beyond being a supplier of raw minerals and build industries that…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":959999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[12],"tags":[7779,64,79,50,67,132,68,2238],"class_list":["post-959998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-africa","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-zimbabwe"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116985283887059981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}