Lithium producers in Zimbabwe have made a passionate appeal to Government to extend the January 2027 deadline for the ban on lithium concentrate exports, warning that only one of the seven major players is currently ready to comply with the beneficiation requirement, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Addressing the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe Annual Conference in Victoria Falls, Lithium Producers Association chairman Innocent Rukweza presented a united front from the industry, requesting “just a little bit of leeway” as producers race to complete lithium sulphate plants.
“It is a strong appeal that we are presenting to our regulators, the Permanent Secretary, the Reserve Bank, and everyone, the Minister of Mines, that we would kindly ask and request that we finalise the work that is going on and extend the beneficiation ban maybe to June next year or March, thereabout,” Rukweza pleaded.
The association’s analysis of the seven lithium players reveals a sobering reality: only one producer — China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt — has completed its lithium sulphate plant and is already exporting.
Sinomine’s Bikita Minerals and Sichuan Yahua’s Kamativi lithium mines are in the process of building lithium sulphate plants, while the state-owned Sandawana Mine is conducting a processing feasibility study.
“All of us except one, we are not yet ready, or we are in the final stages of finalising the various lithium sulphate plants,” Rukweza explained.
The producers are not seeking to abandon beneficiation but rather requesting a pragmatic extension to ensure their multi-million-dollar investments can be completed without disruption.
“We remain, as an industry, committed to the story of lithium,” Rukweza emphasised, noting that the industry has already committed US$1.45 billion in projects “earmarked for nothing else but for beneficiation in compliance with government policy”.
The Government has been clear in its policy direction. In June 2025, Cabinet announced that Zimbabwe would prohibit the export of lithium concentrates starting in January 2027, as part of efforts to compel mining companies to establish processing and refining facilities within the country.
The policy aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2, which prioritises the beneficiation of lithium concentrates into battery-grade lithium.
The industry has already experienced significant policy shocks. In February 2026, the Government accelerated its original timeline, imposing an immediate ban on raw lithium concentrates. Mines Minister Dr Polite Kambamura cited “unprecedented and unacceptable extraction of raw lithium ore as well as massive exports and stockpiling ahead of the 2027 deadline”.
“Disturbing reports further indicate that substantial quantities of our lithium have been illicitly stockpiled in a neighbouring country, depriving our nation of its rightful revenue and future industrial potential,” Kambamura said.
The Government subsequently introduced lithium concentrate quotas and imposed a 16 per cent tax on lithium concentrate exports.
Tax burden and operating costs
Producers are also grappling with what they describe as taxes that are “slightly on the high side” levied on the lithium industry. Rukweza presented a detailed analysis comparing royalty rates, export taxes, and levies across different minerals, appealing for reconsideration.
“We have compared the royalty that we are paying vis-à-vis the other sectors,” he noted.
The association has outlined an engagement timeframe to meet various stakeholders, including the Minister of Mines, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, the Minister of Finance, and the Reserve Bank.
“We would want to meet the Minister of Mines, the MMCZ, the Minister of Commerce, Finance and all that we have indicated there. This is our timeline. These are the areas where we think that, as an association, we would want to go through that process because we are still new even within the chamber,” Rukweza said.
The lithium sector finds itself at a critical juncture. Chinese firms have invested about US$2 billion since 2021 and dominate Zimbabwe’s lithium mining sector. The country exported 1.13 million tonnes of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate in 2025.
Rukweza, recently appointed chairman of the Lithium Association of Zimbabwe, emphasised that the industry remains committed to beneficiation but requires a realistic timeline.
“We are sincerely also appealing that since we are very much at the beginning of the lithium cycle,” he said, urging regulators to consider the industry’s unique position as “a new kid on the block”.
The association has penned an engagement timeframe to address the issues raised and “to gain an insight and to be educated as well — it’s a two-way process”.
As the January 2027 deadline approaches, the question remains whether Government will grant the requested extension or hold firm on its beneficiation timeline, potentially forcing producers to curtail operations until their processing facilities are complete.
