Lithium overtook Platinum Group Metals (PGM) as the biggest revenue earner in the mineral export basket marketed by the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) in the nine months to September, generating US$2.16 billion as sales more than doubled to US$4.74 billion, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Ryan Chigoche
The figures were presented by the corporation at an ongoing lithium media workshop and tour, with sales jumping 101.8% from US$2.347 billion a year earlier and volumes increasing 23.4% to 4.738 million tonnes from 3.840 million tonnes. The figures exclude gold and silver, which fall outside the corporation’s marketing mandate.
Lithium accounted for 45.6% of sales, with spodumene, petalite and lithium sulphate generating about US$2.159 billion. PGMs contributed US$1.729 billion, or 36.5%, putting lithium about US$430 million ahead.
The shift comes as Zimbabwe seeks to capture more value from its lithium resources through local processing, with restrictions on unprocessed lithium exports pushing producers towards beneficiation and conversion capacity.
Dr Nomusa Moyo, MMCZ general manager, attributed lithium’s emergence as the leading revenue earner to government-led beneficiation efforts and investment by producers.
“We attribute lithium’s emergence as the leading revenue earner to the beneficiation work being driven by government, alongside producers’ investment and operational efforts. Lithium sulphate sales alone generated US$190.52 million. This demonstrates the contribution that further processing is beginning to make to export earnings,” Moyo said.
Spodumene was the biggest driver of the lithium surge, with sales jumping 368.2% to about US$1.812 billion. Its average realised sales value climbed to approximately US$1,483 a tonne from US$387 a year earlier.
The surge may partly reflect producers racing to export concentrate ahead of Zimbabwe’s looming 2027 ban, which is expected to push more lithium into local processing.
The sharp rise in value also outpaced the increase in overall volumes, pointing to higher realised prices as another major driver of the earnings jump rather than simply more tonnes being shipped.
Petalite sales climbed 583.3% to US$155.29 million, while lithium sulphate generated US$190.52 million from about 33,807 tonnes. There were no corresponding lithium sulphate sales in the same period last year.
PGM sales rose 31.6% to about US$1.63 billion, while concentrate sales increased 69.8% to US$465.56 million.
Higher realised prices supported the increase, although furnace maintenance at Zimplats reduced production and dispatches in September.
Sales reached US$685.03 million in September alone, up 116.6% from a year earlier, while volumes increased 70.8% to about 844,001 tonnes.
The gains extended beyond lithium and PGMs, with high-carbon ferrochrome, chrome concentrate, steel, metallurgical coke, granite and diamonds also recording increases in value and volume.
MMCZ attributed the broader improvement to higher international commodity prices, increased beneficiation, enhanced production, new markets and efforts to curb mineral leakages.
The outlook for the final quarter is mixed across commodities.
Battery and energy-storage demand is expected to continue supporting lithium consumption, although surplus feedstock and cautious restocking by buyers could restrain a stronger recovery in prices.
The outlook is firmer for platinum than for palladium and rhodium, while demand and prices across the PGM basket are expected to remain differentiated and volatile.
Chinese smelter requirements and restocking are expected to support chrome ore demand, although ferrochrome buying remains cautious. Regional metallurgical coke demand is supportive, while the rough diamond market continues to face cautious buying.
MMCZ expects commodity prices generally to remain significantly above 2025 levels during the fourth quarter.
The nine-month figures show lithium reshaping the composition of MMCZ’s export earnings, with the surge in spodumene highlighting both strong market values and the pressure on producers to adapt to Zimbabwe’s coming shift from concentrate exports towards local processing.
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