Mining ZimbabweLatest Mining News, Policy and Industry Updates

While restrictions to export raw lithium are noble and beneficial towards the achievement of the upper middle-income economy, the sudden introduction of the law has left many miners struggling to get a decent market for the product.

Rudairo Mapuranga

The ban on raw lithium export would lead to job creation and transfer of skills to local experts thereby creating a green energy future for Zimbabwe leading the country to be considered one of the top countries in the energy revolution. However, the ban came at a time when proper structures were not in place leading many to lose out on the current world appetite for the commodity.

Speaking to this Publication miners in Mtoko have expressed concern on the government’s decision to ban suddenly the export of raw lithium as this has led to a market bankruptcy and exploitation of miners. Lithium ores of less than 2 per cent content are currently being bought at US$30 per tonne on the ground leaving miners bleeding as few buyers have been given a leeway to export.

“Buyers used to buy these ores at around US$150 which are rendered useless nowadays. We are now selling at US$30 per tonne because we are desperate for money. If we take them ourselves to Harare, no one will even want to buy them. The decision to ban the export of the raw mineral was good but it was done too early, it’s affecting us big time,” a miner said.

“We just hope the government can create a market for us, buyers have now turned into bloodsuckers, we may soon die. We support the decision to ban but we also want markets. The government after banning, should be creating markets for us,” said another.

Miner Elisha Murengwa said the decision to ban was of importance but more time should have been invested in creating future markets after the raw ban for miners who are not producing concentrates yet.

“First we need to establish the objective for such a decision by the government since it has been endorsed by the relevant Minister. From the official statement released thus far by the permanent secretary, it alludes to governments’ need to safeguard such key minerals as they form part of economic growth enablers due to their current and future high demand on the international market thus such minerals should be ring-fenced and measures put in place to protect them. Then there is mention of the need to promote value addition and mineral beneficiation which again is a very noble decision as this ensures employment creation through industry/processing plants that would be opened but very importantly it also means more taxes on export which in turn means additional revenue to our fiscus. So when one considers such a position government does feel justified in pronouncing such bans though going back to your question “is it within our legal framework” to impose such a ban overnight becomes another question. We have seen such similar moves by the government when they banned lithium and chrome exports in the past using similar statutory instruments. As far as we know there hasn’t been any litigation from anyone outside to challenge such moves in court and one wouldn’t expect this to be different however we cannot rule out such a court challenge. I cannot delve into finer details of the law as I’m not a legal expert but as miners, we are not happy with such a decision because it simply worsens the plight of miners who in some instances had done explorations and invested their hard-earned money,” he said.

The Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Winston Chitando through section 3 (1) (a) of the base Minerals Export Control Act banned the export of raw lithium ore.

An important focus of this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba will be on security and supply –and with good reason, according to Ralf Hennecke, Managing Director of Omnia Group company BME.

The pressure is building for the mining sector to re-set its production capability in the face of growing future demand – especially in those minerals critical to global decarbonisation trends. Not only will this require more exploration and mine development in the long term, but it will demand more predictability and efficiency across the value chain.

“The coming year will continue to bring challenges with regards to mining supply chains around the world,” said Hennecke.

“These obstacles have their origins in the economic lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic but have been compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the related disruptions.”

This has brought home the importance of secure supply chains in key inputs like explosives and blasting technology, on which mines rely to meet their daily output targets. PwC’s annual insight report SA Mine 2022 has also recently raised similar concerns about whether South Africa and other resource-rich countries will benefit fully from mineral demand growth. This will depend, argued PwC, on their ability to address bottlenecks in supply and mine-to-market infrastructure.

“As BME, we are always dealing with supply chain disruptions – caused by a range of factors from weak infrastructure to border efficiency,” he said.

“Our success in serving customers stems from ongoing investment in local infrastructure and skills, to strengthen local supply chains.”

Closer collaboration between mines and their supply partners was a key ingredient in building future stability in the sector, he asserted. Beyond supply chain issues, the pursuit of efficiency in mining remained a vital theme. This is because efficiency is directly relevant to energy saving efforts for decarbonisation, as well as for unlocking opportunities to gradually increase production levels.

“The digital age offers mining supply companies the ability to continuously develop our productive technologies,” he said.

“In our field – blasting and explosives – we have seen the significant impact that our technological development can have on mine safety and productivity, for instance.

”Hennecke highlighted that these efficiency improvements were important to the long-term sustainability of the sector – as they improved the commercial viability and longevity of every project. Greenfield projects to produce key commodities are scarce, he pointed out, and minerals like nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals are likely to experience supply shortages if new projects are not initiated soon.

“It has become clear that more exploration – in battery minerals particularly – is going to be necessary to meet the needs of a lower carbon global economy,” he said.

“Being a high-risk endeavour, exploration needs optimal levels of confidence from the investment sector – so every efficiency gain will help.”

The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has arrested six Riozim’s Renco Gold Mine workers in connection with a case of unlawful entry and theft in which 7 kgs of Calcine valued at US$120 000 were stolen from the mine’s gold room.

Rudairo Mapuranga

The crime according to the ZRP was captured by the mine’s CCTV leading to the arrest of the six suspects with the other three currently on run.

The police said that, after the arrest, they recovered property worth US$4 960 and ZAR 25000 which had been bought by the suspects using the proceeds of the heist.

“Police in Masvingo have arrested a Rio Zim Renco Mine worker, Davison Chivungani (23) and the mine’s five security guards, Lackson Museka (34), Vincent Mazorodze (25), Joyce Maneswa (39), Leonard Mujeri (42) as well as Chiduke Solomon, in connection with a case of unlawful entry and theft in which 7kgs of Calcine valued at US$120 000, were stolen from a gold room at Rio Zim Renco Mine on 08/01/23.

“The heist was captured by the mine’s CCTV. The arrest led to the recovery of property worth US$4 960 and ZAR 2500 which had been bought by the suspects using the proceeds of the heist.

“The suspect’s accomplices identified as Sam Sibanda, Ben Wellington and Godfrey Totamu are on the run,” the Police said.