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In an endeavour to unpack Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth, its role in the global green energy transition, and the enduring socio-economic paradox of resource abundance, Professor Tumai Murombo delivered a keynote that was as sobering as it was provocative at the 14th Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) 2025 in Bulawayo. The event brought together government ministers, traditional leaders, civil society actors, clergy, and mining communities under the banner: “From Extraction to Sustainable Development: Unlocking Zimbabwe’s Mineral Wealth for Inclusive Growth in the Just Energy Transition.”
What unfolded over a 20-minute keynote was not a conventional celebration of minerals, investment, or national pride. Instead, Prof. Murombo presented a deeply analytical, historically informed critique of the structural, political, and environmental forces that have shaped Zimbabwe’s mining sector for over a millennium. His thesis was clear: the nation’s critical minerals, while globally sought after, have historically functioned more as a curse than a blessing.
Defining Critical Minerals: Wealth or Strategic Commodity?
Critical minerals are substances deemed essential for modern technology, energy security, and industrial development. Globally, the term has gained prominence in the context of the green energy revolution—lithium for batteries, cobalt for electric vehicles, nickel for energy storage, and rare earth elements for electronics. Zimbabwe sits at the center of this discourse, endowed with significant deposits of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group metals (PGMs), as well as gold, diamonds, and chrome.
Prof. Murombo challenged the audience to confront the gap between global demand and local benefit. “These minerals,” he stated, “fuel industries, technologies, and economies elsewhere while our communities bear the costs. Who truly benefits from Zimbabwe’s critical minerals? Is it us, or the global market?”
The definition of critical minerals, he argued, cannot be limited to their economic or technological utility alone. It must encompass social justice, community well-being, environmental stewardship, and national development. Otherwise, their extraction risks repeating centuries of inequity under the guise of progress.
The Mineral Curse: A Zimbabwean Historical Lens
The “mineral curse” refers to the paradox whereby countries rich in natural resources often experience slower economic growth, weaker institutions, and persistent inequality compared to resource-poor nations. Zimbabwe provides a striking historical illustration.
Mining in Zimbabwe dates back to the 7th century, when gold from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and later Great Zimbabwe fueled sophisticated trade networks across Southern Africa. Local rulers accrued wealth, but broad-based prosperity remained elusive. The colonial era intensified extraction. By the late 19th century, British South Africa Company (BSAC) interests had modernised mining operations, prioritising foreign profit over local development.
Prof. Murombo traced this lineage to the present: “Up to 2025, we are still crying. Mining has always been a double-edged sword—creating revenue while leaving communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods deeply scarred.”
He highlighted contemporary examples: artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) struggle with regulatory hurdles and limited access to markets, while large-scale operators generate significant export revenue yet often marginalise local communities. Open pits, tailings, and water contamination remain persistent hazards, and local employment gains are frequently modest relative to the mineral wealth extracted.
The Socio-Environmental Footprint: Wealth That Isn’t a Blessing
One of the keynote’s most powerful themes was the dissonance between economic statistics and lived realities. Zimbabwe’s mining sector contributes over 50% of GDP and 60% of exports, yet Prof. Murombo emphasised that the visible social benefits for communities are minimal.
“All the people that spoke from the provinces… I did not hear any person who was smiling and saying they benefited a lot from mineral resources. What kind of wealth is that?” he asked, prompting delegates to reflect on the human cost of extraction.
The environmental consequences are equally stark. Rivers have been contaminated, farmland degraded, and ecosystems disrupted by poorly regulated mining. Mercury and cyanide contamination from gold panning, tailings mismanagement from platinum and chrome operations, and unrehabilitated pits from lithium and base metal exploration all contribute to a chronic environmental debt.
Prof. Murombo argued that these costs are not incidental but structural: they result from the very way minerals are commoditised and governed. The “mineral curse” is not just economic; it is social, cultural, and environmental.
The “Just Energy Transition”: Hype, Appropriation, or Hope?
The term “just energy transition” has gained traction globally as nations attempt to move away from fossil fuels while promoting sustainable and equitable development. Yet, according to Prof. Murombo, the concept has been hollowed out, often appropriated by powerful actors in the Global North to secure critical minerals for their energy ambitions.
“Who has defined it? Do we own the discussions around the just energy transition? Can anyone here claim that they understand what the just energy transition is?” he asked, underscoring the absence of local agency in global energy discourse.
For Zimbabwe, this has profound implications. Lithium, cobalt, and PGMs are key to the green economy, but global markets dictate prices, terms of trade, and supply chains. The profits flow abroad, while Zimbabwean communities endure the ecological and social burdens.
Prof. Murombo’s critique went further: as long as renewable energy and green technologies are profit-driven, they will replicate the inequities of fossil-fuel economies. In other words, a transition in energy sources alone cannot dismantle centuries of structural extraction.
Human Nature and the Politics of Mining
A recurring theme in the keynote was the interplay between human nature, power, and profit. Prof. Murombo posited that self-interest, amplified by access to resources and authority, drives extractive practices and weak regulatory enforcement.
“Human beings are, by nature… self-advertising… every human being… with a spirit of self-preservation,” he said. While education, social norms, and accountability mechanisms can temper this instinct, they do not eliminate it.
This insight has tangible implications for governance. Regulating mining is not merely a legal or technical challenge—it is a struggle against deeply ingrained incentives and behaviours. Economic usefulness does not equate to ethical or social acceptability. Activities that generate profit yet harm communities, degrade land, or perpetuate inequality are the essence of the mineral curse.
A Dilemma of Governance: Doomed if You Do, Doomed if You Don’t
Prof. Murombo framed Zimbabwe’s leadership predicament as a double bind. National leaders are caught between domestic expectations for resource-led development and international pressures for compliance with climate, trade, and investment standards.
“Your people will place you as a candidate if you take the same decisions, but you will be demonised internationally… So whatever decision we take, we must be prepared to stand like this. There is no right or wrong decision…”
This dilemma is particularly visible in the electricity and energy sector. Renewable energy transitions require reliable power infrastructure, yet Zimbabwe’s energy system is constrained by underinvestment, ageing plants, and limited capital. Fossil-fuel-based solutions may provide faster economic returns but come at environmental and social costs. The leadership challenge is navigating these trade-offs while safeguarding national sovereignty and community well-being.
Zimbabwe’s Lithium: Opportunity and Risk
Lithium, central to batteries and electric vehicles, exemplifies the promise and peril of critical minerals in Zimbabwe. The country holds some of the world’s largest lithium deposits, particularly in Bikita and Arcadia. Yet extraction, processing, and revenue management remain contentious.
Prof. Murombo warned against simplistic narratives of economic transformation: “We can extract lithium quickly, supply the world, and generate revenue, but if communities remain excluded, if ecosystems collapse, and if profits are expatriated, we are merely repeating the same story.”
The lithium debate illustrates a broader tension: balancing urgent global demand, domestic development objectives, and environmental sustainability. Without careful governance, Zimbabwe risks entrenching the mineral curse even while participating in the green economy.
Lessons from History: Learning from the Past to Shape the Future
Throughout the keynote, Prof. Murombo drew lessons from Zimbabwe’s long history of mining. From pre-colonial gold kingdoms to colonial exploitation and post-independence mineral policies, a recurring pattern emerges: resource wealth has rarely translated into sustained, equitable development.
Key takeaways include:
- Community inclusion is non-negotiable: Decision-making must integrate local voices from exploration to closure.
- Environmental accountability is critical: Mining must consider long-term ecological impacts and rehabilitation.
- Global narratives require local scrutiny: International frameworks, like the just energy transition, must be adapted to national realities rather than imposed externally.
- Profit motives cannot dictate development alone: Economic growth without social equity perpetuates the mineral curse.
- These lessons suggest that transformative governance is possible but demands intellectual honesty, political courage, and structural reform.
Towards a Truly Just Transition
While the keynote was unflinching in its critique, it also implicitly offered a pathway: honesty, pragmatism, and local agency. Prof. Murombo did not prescribe specific policies but emphasised principles that could guide Zimbabwe’s mining and energy future:
- Redefining wealth: Beyond GDP and exports, wealth must include community well-being, environmental integrity, and intergenerational equity.
- Local ownership and control: Critical minerals should serve domestic development priorities, not just global markets.
- Integrated governance: Mining, energy, and environmental policies must be coordinated, transparent, and enforceable.
- Ethical investment: Foreign and local investors must adhere to standards that protect people, land, and water.
- Incremental pragmatism: Renewable energy adoption should consider technical, financial, and infrastructural realities without sacrificing sustainability goals.
Provocation as a Call to Action
Professor Tumai Murombo’s keynote at ZAMI 2025 was not merely a lecture—it was a provocation. By highlighting the persistent mineral curse, interrogating the assumptions of the just energy transition, and emphasising the centrality of human nature in resource governance, he challenged delegates to rethink Zimbabwe’s path.
The questions remain uncomfortable yet unavoidable: Can Zimbabwe harness its critical minerals without replicating historical injustices? Can communities benefit equitably while global markets continue to exert influence? Is a truly just energy transition possible when profit motives dominate?
The answers are neither simple nor immediate. Yet, as Prof. Murombo reminded the audience, confronting these realities with honesty and courage is the only way to ensure that Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth becomes a blessing rather than a centuries-old curse.
