Zimbabwe lithium miners seek six‑month extension to export ban

Lithium miners in Zimbabwe have asked the government to postpone the planned ban on concentrate exports from January 2027 to June 2027. The industry says most companies still need time to complete local processing plants required under the country’s beneficiation drive. Only one of the seven major producers – the Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt plant – is ready to ship lithium sulphate, while Sinomine’s Bikita Minerals, Sichuan Yahua’s Kamativi mine and the state‑owned Sandawana are still building or studying facilities. The request was made by Innocent Rukweza, chairman of the Lithium Producers’ Association and CEO of Mutapa Energy Resources, who said, “We plead that we be given just a little bit of leeway, because the deadline might be a bit tight.”

The government introduced export quotas and a 16% tax after a temporary halt citing mineral leakages, and it allowed six producers to continue exporting under a quota system until the deadline. Chinese investment in Zimbabwe’s lithium sector totals about $2 billion since 2021, and the country exported roughly 1.13 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate to China in 2025, about 15% of China’s lithium concentrate imports.