Zimbabwe Halts Exports of Raw Minerals to Boost Local Processing
Economics Desk
– February 28, 2026
2 min read
Zimbabwe has suspended all exports of unprocessed minerals, aiming to capture more economic value from its natural resources before they reach global markets.
The policy, known as beneficiation, reflects a growing trend across Africa, where resource-rich countries are increasingly aiming to process their minerals locally, allowing them to export processed goods rather than raw materials, creating jobs and fostering industrialisation.
Zimbabwe’s export halt is intended to force leading miners to build local processing plants.
The ban includes lithium, a crucial material for rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems, which has become one of Zimbabwe's most strategically significant commodities. Zimbabwe is the world’s fourth-largest lithium producer, and controls 4.4% of global lithium reserves.
Most of Zimbabwe’s lithium mines are owned by China. For years, these firms have exported raw lithium ore to China for processing, with little value addition occurring within Zimbabwe.
Currently, Zimbabwe has no local facilities to process lithium concentrates, leaving uncertainties on what the sector will do in the short term. Chinese investment is moving to fill that gap.
Huayou Cobalt, a Chinese battery materials manufacturer and one of the world's leading cobalt and lithium processors, has made two major investments at the Arcadia Mine, one of Zimbabwe's largest lithium deposits, to build processing plants.
Huayou Cobalt, a Chinese battery materials manufacturer and one of the world's leading cobalt and lithium processors, has committed $400 million to a processing facility at the Arcadia Mine, one of Zimbabwe's largest lithium deposits outside Harare. The plant will refine lithium concentrate into lithium sulphate, an intermediate product that can be further processed into battery-grade material. Once operational, it will be the first facility of its kind in Africa, only the third in the world, and is expected to produce more than 60,000 metric tons annually.
Marvellous Ngundu, an analyst at the Institute of Security Studies, argues: “If managed effectively, lithium beneficiation can [transform] the country into an upper-middle-income economy.”
The government may still allow limited export windows for large miners until local processing plants come online.
