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• Zimbabwe has drawn a hard line: no more exporting raw chrome. With a US$15.8 billion ferrochrome market in sight, the government is forcing investors to beneficiate locally or walk away.

Zimbabwe has declared raw chrome concentrate exports obsolete as Mines Minister Dr. Polite Kambamura launched an aggressive hunt for a share of the US$15.8 billion global ferrochrome market, warning investors that the era of shipping unprocessed ore is over permanently, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

Speaking at the Africa Chromium Week 2026 conference in Victoria Falls, Dr. Kambamura delivered what amounted to an ultimatum to the global chromium industry: beneficiate locally, or do not mine at all.

“Our position is clear,” the Minister told delegates. “Zimbabwe will no longer export jobs, value, and industrial potential in the form of raw minerals. Instead, we are building a robust ferrochrome industry anchored on local smelting, technology upgrades, and strategic partnerships.”

In February 2026, Kambamura announced a sweeping suspension of all raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports, effective immediately, covering minerals already in transit. The ban extends to chrome ore, gold, platinum group metals, and lithium, compressing a policy timeline that had previously set a January 2027 deadline for lithium concentrate restrictions.

The Minister’s numbers painted a stark picture of both opportunity and underperformance.

Zimbabwe holds approximately 12 to 13 per cent of global chrome reserves, the second-largest endowment in the world, concentrated along the mineral-rich Great Dyke. The country currently operates 17 ferrochrome smelting plants, and in 2025, ferrochrome exports reached 433,293 metric tonnes, reflecting 19 per cent year-on-year growth.

Yet, despite this solid resource base and growing output, smelter capacity utilisation remains at approximately 68 per cent.

“To appreciate the scale of opportunity, consider global ferrochrome demand, which stands at approximately 14.92 million tonnes per annum,” Kambamura said. “China alone accounts for 6.8 to 7.2 million tonnes. Zimbabwe contributes only 0.25 to 0.45 million tonnes, a figure that underscores both the room for growth and the urgency of our beneficiation drive.”

The global ferrochrome market, valued at approximately US$15.8 billion in 2026, is projected to reach US$22.02 billion by 2035, driven by stainless steel demand from China’s industrial expansion and India’s emergence as the next major consumption frontier.

The Palm River Template

The Minister singled out the Palm River Energy Metallurgical Special Economic Zone in Beitbridge as the model for Zimbabwe’s chrome-powered future.

The US$3.6 billion project, developed in collaboration with a Chinese mining company, covers 5,100 hectares and includes a coking plant, a 2-million-tonnes-per-year ferrochrome smelting plant, and a 1,200 MW coal-fired power complex. Surplus electricity will be supplied to the national grid.

According to the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), verified investment in the project had reached US$57.7 million as of March 2025, with the initial phase targeting US$209 million. The project has already generated direct employment for 313 Zimbabweans.

The Manhize Steel Plant in Mvuma, developed by Dinson Iron and Steel (part of China’s Tsingshan Holding Group), represents the other anchor of the strategy, expected to become Africa’s largest integrated steelworks.

Local Innovation Bypasses Grid Constraints

Kambamura also highlighted technological breakthroughs emerging from domestic players. African Chrome Fields has pioneered a proprietary aluminothermic smelting process that produces ultra-low carbon ferrochrome without relying on the national grid.

“Our exclusive aluminothermic processes yield high-grade ferrochrome with ultra-low carbon content in a significantly shorter duration compared to conventional methods,” said Zunaid Moti, Chairman of African Chrome Fields. “This positions us to soon deliver a superior product compared to almost any other source globally.”

The technology, developed at a cost of over R1.2 billion (approximately US$65 million), produces ferrochrome with 62–65 per cent chromium content and just 0.2 per cent carbon—suitable for high-grade applications in aerospace and speciality steel.

“Companies such as African Chrome Fields are pioneering ultra-low carbon ferrochrome technologies, developed locally, proving that Zimbabwe is not just a resource base, but is under transformation into an innovation hub,” Kambamura said.

Zimbabwe is no longer asking whether it can beneficiate its chrome. The export ban is in force. Seventeen smelters are operating. Palm River and Manhize are under construction. Local innovation has proven that grid constraints can be bypassed.

The question now is whether global capital will move at the speed of Zimbabwe’s ambition, or risk being locked out of one of the world’s largest chrome reserves.

“Value addition is no longer an option; it is the foundation of our national strategy,” Dr. Kambamura said.

With the goal of developing the ferrochrome industry beyond exports as the next stage of the chromium value addition drive, Zimbabwe is seeking to attract investors to commit capital into a wider industrial expansion of its chrome sector, as the government moves to position the mineral as a foundation for steel production, speciality alloys, and chemical industries, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Ryan Chigoche

This was revealed by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa via Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga at the ongoing Africa Chromium Week 2026, organised by the International Chromium Development Association.

Over the years, Zimbabwe’s chrome industry has grown significantly since the era of exporting raw chromite ore, with the country now increasingly shifting towards beneficiation and semi-processed ferrochrome production.

The country currently operates 17 ferrochrome smelters, while exports reached 433,000 metric tonnes in 2025, representing a 19% year-on-year increase.

This performance has propelled Zimbabwe to fourth globally in chromite production and sixth in high-carbon ferrochrome output, underscoring its steady rise in value addition.

Despite this growth in output and exports, authorities say the next phase of the sector’s development lies well beyond ferrochrome production, as the country seeks to deepen beneficiation and expand into higher-value industrial applications.

Speaking at the conference on behalf of President Mnangagwa, VP Chiwenga said Zimbabwe’s chrome strategy extends far beyond high-carbon ferrochrome and is anchored on building a full value chain that captures downstream industrial output.

“…Our vision for the chrome sector extends far beyond high-carbon ferrochrome… it includes chrome chemicals such as chromic acid and chrome pigments, speciality superalloys for jet engines, and chrome plating solutions critical to the global industry. This is Zimbabwe’s roadmap, not an aspiration but a deliberate plan in motion. The foundations are being laid now through smelting clusters, energy infrastructure, special economic zones, and skills development…” Chiwenga said.

He went on to call on potential investors, industry leaders, financiers, and technology partners to consider Zimbabwe as an investment destination within the global chrome value chain, pointing to opportunities for capital deployment across beneficiation, energy development, and downstream industrialisation.

“…I call upon investors, industry leaders, financiers, and technology partners to move beyond dialogue into decisive execution. Zimbabwe offers a clear value proposition, resource certainty, and a government fully committed to value addition and industrial transformation. The opportunity before us is immediate and scalable to deploy capital into beneficiation, to co-develop energy solutions, to establish downstream industries, and to embed chromium innovation across the chromium value chain…” said Chiwenga.

Since ferrochrome production is among the world’s most energy-intensive metallurgical processes, the government has identified electricity supply as a key constraint to deeper beneficiation in the chrome sector.

To support investment in the sector’s expansion and attract new capital into downstream processing, it is introducing subsidised electricity tariffs for ferrochrome producers during a transition phase, while at the same time requiring smelters to invest in captive power generation.

Producers that develop their own power capacity will receive commensurate mining rights and fiscal incentives, with the policy shift aimed at building a new energy architecture to support industrial expansion within the chrome sector.

Zimbabwe’s lithium has been identified as a potential pathway to industrialisation, supported by rising global demand for battery metals. But the World Bank says the opportunity is not guaranteed, warning that outcomes will depend on how policy is designed and implemented, Mining Zimbabwe reports.

By Ryan Chigoche

In its Spring 2026 Africa Economic Update, the Bank places Zimbabwe among resource-rich economies with a credible chance of moving beyond raw mineral exports into processing and value addition.

With global demand for battery metals rising as the energy transition gathers pace, lithium is increasingly seen as the country’s clearest entry point into that shift.

But the message is not one of certainty; it is one of timing and execution. The current surge in demand for critical minerals, the Bank notes, presents a narrow window for Africa to industrialise on the back of its resource base.

Lithium pathway viable — but only under strict conditions

The report makes it clear that mineral beneficiation can work, but only under specific conditions.

Countries must have enough influence in global markets to limit buyers’ ability to switch suppliers, while also building a domestic environment capable of supporting competitive processing.

The experience of Indonesia offers a useful contrast. Its nickel export ban helped trigger a processing boom because it controlled a significant share of global supply. A similar approach in bauxite, however, failed when buyers simply turned elsewhere.

For Zimbabwe, the takeaway is straightforward: lithium can support industrialisation, but only if local capacity, from power to skills, is built to match policy ambition.

Export restrictions remain a high-stakes gamble

That context puts Zimbabwe’s own policy direction into sharper focus.

Following a blanket ban on lithium concentrates in February, the government has this week softly lifted export restrictions, allowing shipments to resume under a controlled framework after engagements with producers. The move is aimed at safeguarding investment while maintaining pressure on miners to move into processing.

Under the new approach, authorities are introducing export quotas allocated on a producer-by-producer basis, alongside strict conditions tied to transparency, compliance, and commitments to build local processing plants.

A transition framework is also in place, including a tax on concentrate exports and a longer-term push toward a full ban on unprocessed lithium.

In effect, Zimbabwe is attempting to balance two competing priorities—preserving current export revenues while forcing a shift toward beneficiation.

That balancing act mirrors the World Bank’s warning.

Export controls, the report stresses, are not general-purpose tools but high-stakes bets. If applied before a competitive processing base is in place, they risk disrupting markets and eroding foreign currency inflows without delivering industrialisation.

More broadly, the Bank sees Zimbabwe as part of a wider shift across Africa, where governments are increasingly using industrial policy tools, from export controls to incentives, to capture more value from natural resources.

Yet it also flags a familiar constraint. Zimbabwe falls into what it terms a “selection gap”, where policy choices are broadly correct in theory but not always aligned with domestic capabilities.

In practice, this has meant a heavier reliance on export controls, with less emphasis on the production support needed to build competitive industries.

That gap between ambition and execution is where the outcome will be decided.

Zimbabwe’s lithium resources, the Bank suggests, give it a genuine opportunity to industrialise in step with global demand for battery metals.

But turning that potential into reality will depend on getting the sequencing right—building capacity, aligning policy with conditions on the ground, and using current measures, such as export quotas, as a bridge rather than an end in themselves.

Without that, lithium risks remaining just that: potential.

Cabinet approves four-pillar plan that includes mine-to-market tracking, university-based labs, and mandatory value-added certificates

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has approved a comprehensive framework that will require all mineral exports to meet mandatory local processing standards, establish a real-time tracking system for every consignment, and create a decentralised network of university-based laboratories to certify mineral content, Information Minister Hon. Zhemu Soda announced on Tuesday.

By Rudairo Mapuranga

The Minerals Value Chain: From Mining to Beneficiation, Industrialisation and Exportation framework, presented by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, aims to transform Zimbabwe from a primary resource exporter into a “globally competitive minerals-based industrial manufacturing hub,” Hon. Soda told reporters after the weekly Cabinet briefing.

“The framework seeks, inter alia, to protect the national interest by closing the leakages that have perennially prejudiced the country of huge earnings from its vast mineral wealth,” Hon. Soda said.

Four Pillars

The framework rests on four main pillars:

Mineral-Specific Architecture and Mandatory Standards: Legally binding minimum processing standards will be enforced through a new Value-Added Compliance Certificate required for any export permit.

National Minerals Research and Analytical Laboratory Infrastructure: Government will end reliance on foreign laboratories by establishing a decentralised network of analytical hubs at national universities. Each institution will serve as a dedicated referee for specific mineral clusters, with the University of Zimbabwe as the apex hub for lithium, rare earth elements, and uranium.

Mine-to-Market Operational Control System: A secure, real-time “smart corridor” will track every mineral consignment from extraction to the final port of exit, providing an end-to-end audit trail to prevent leakages and fraud.

Integrated Special Economic Zones: Eight regional mineral beneficiation zones will be strategically positioned across provinces. New investors will be directed to specialised hubs such as the Northern Battery Minerals or Midlands Metallurgical zones.

The framework will be supported by reliable and affordable power supply, energy self-generation incentives for beneficiation projects, and Environmental, Social, and Governance initiatives. The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development will be strengthened to undertake the added responsibilities.

Cabinet also approved a consolidated legal framework to operationalise the mineral value chain, Hon. Soda said.

The approval follows the government’s 25 February suspension of raw lithium and mineral exports and the subsequent imposition of export quotas on six large-scale lithium producers. The new framework extends similar controls across all mineral sectors, including gold, platinum, chrome, diamonds, and coal.

• Nine institutions designated as analytical hubs for lithium, PGMs, chrome, and diamonds

Zimbabwe has ended its costly reliance on foreign laboratories for mineral certification, establishing a decentralised network of analytical hubs at nine universities and scientific institutions across the country, Mining Zimbabwe can report.

By Rudairo Maparanga

Information Minister Hon. Zhemu Soda, announcing at the weekly Cabinet briefing on Tuesday, said the government has identified nine universities, such as the University of Zimbabwe, Great Zimbabwe University, and Midlands State University, among others, for mineral analysis.

“Government will end the costly and risky reliance on foreign laboratories for mineral certification through a decentralised network of specialised analytical hubs co-located at national universities and scientific institutions,” Hon. Soda said.

The National Minerals Research and Analytical Scientific Laboratory Infrastructure Pillar is part of the broader Minerals Value Chain Framework approved by Cabinet, which aims to transition Zimbabwe from a primary resource exporter to a minerals-based industrial manufacturing hub.

University of Zimbabwe to Serve as Apex Hub

Under the new framework, the National Mineral Research Centre at the University of Zimbabwe will function as the apex hub for all minerals, with particular responsibility for lithium, rare earth elements, and uranium.

“Each institution will serve as a dedicated referee for specific mineral clusters within the region,” Soda explained.

Specialised Centres Across the Country

The decentralised arrangements assign specific mandates to each institution:

The National University of Science and Technology and Great Zimbabwe University will anchor platinum group metals and battery minerals.

Midlands State University will provide analytical oversight for iron ore, chrome, and vanadium corridors.

Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences will focus on the national diamond and gemmology suite.

Chinhoyi University of Technology and Bindura University of Science Education will specialise in industrial minerals, phosphates, and graphite.

Gwanda State University will serve Matabeleland South Province on geology and beneficiation for artisanal and small-scale miners.

The Zimbabwe School of Mines will function as an integrated core hub for specialised training.

The laboratory network comes nearly two months after the government imposed an immediate suspension of all raw mineral and lithium concentrate exports on 25 February 2026.

That ban, still in effect for non-compliant producers, was triggered by evidence of widespread under-declaration of mineral content, transfer pricing, and smuggling. Without domestic laboratory capacity, the government had no independent means to verify what exporters were declaring.

The new network allows the government to certify mineral content locally, eliminating the delays, costs, and strategic risks associated with sending samples to laboratories in South Africa, Europe, and China.

“This pillar is designed to close the leakages that have perennially prejudiced the country of huge earnings from its vast mineral wealth,” Hon. Soda said.

Cabinet also approved a consolidated legal framework to operationalise the mineral value chain, with the four pillars to be supported by reliable energy supply, self-generation incentives for beneficiation projects, and environmental, social, and governance initiatives. The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development will be strengthened to undertake the added responsibilities.

The laboratory network is expected to be rolled out in phases, with the University of Zimbabwe apex hub operational first, followed by regional centres at NUST, Great Zimbabwe University, and Midlands State University.