Zimbabwe lithium miners seek extended deadline for processing plant construction

Lithium miners in Zimbabwe have requested additional time from the government to complete their processing facilities, ahead of a January 2027 ban on concentrate exports, an industry executive said on Thursday.

Zimbabwe, Africa's largest lithium producer, has been pressing operators to increase domestic processing of the battery metal in order to capture greater economic value from its mineral resources. In recent months, the government has introduced lithium concentrate quotas and imposed a 16% export tax, following a temporary halt on shipments that was justified on the grounds of mineral leakages.

According to Innocent Rukweza, chairman of Zimbabwe's Lithium Producers' Association, major miners are at various stages of constructing lithium sulphate plants. To date, only one facility-owned by China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt-has been completed and is currently exporting chemicals.

Sinomine's Bikita Minerals and Sichuan Yahua's Kamativi lithium mines are both building lithium sulphate plants, while the state-owned Sandawana mine is conducting a feasibility study for its own processing operations, Rukweza told delegates at a mining conference in Victoria Falls.

Lithium producers continue to face high taxes, rising costs, and policy uncertainties-including the export ban imposed in February. Nevertheless, Rukweza noted that the industry projects annual lithium sulphate output to reach 344,000 metric tons by 2030.

Chinese firms, which have invested approximately $2 billion in Zimbabwe's lithium sector since 2021, now dominate the industry, further consolidating China's hold on the global battery metal supply chain.

Zimbabwe exported 1.13 million tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China in 2025, representing roughly 15% of China's total lithium concentrate imports for that year.