Dr Nomsa Moyo lays out stark arithmetic: $50 per tonne for raw ore versus $22,000 for processed lithium
Zimbabwe has been haemorrhaging potential revenue by exporting raw minerals instead of processed products, with the gap between unprocessed ore and finished battery-grade material running as high as $22,000 per tonne, a senior official has revealed.
By Rudairo Maparanga
Presenting at a workshop on Energy Minerals co-hosted by ActionAid Zimbabwe and Parliament, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe General Manager Dr Nomsa Moyo delivered a stark economic rationale for the government’s push toward beneficiation, using lithium as the clearest example of value lost at every stage of the supply chain.
The Numbers That Explain the Policy Shift
Dr Moyo walked lawmakers and civil society through the escalating value at each stage of lithium processing, exposing the scale of revenue leakage that has motivated the government’s recent export ban.
“If you are selling raw ore, we are talking of $30 to $50 per metric tonne,” she said.
Moving to concentrates, the value increases fivefold.
“If you go to the next level, which is concentrates, we are talking of $150 to $300 per metric tonne. That is your spodumene concentrate.”
The intermediate stage, technical-grade lithium carbonate, commands $400 to $600 per tonne.
But it is at the final processing stages that the numbers become transformative.
“When they talk of a fine product, which is battery-grade lithium hydroxide, this is now $18,000 to $22,000 per metric tonne.”
And at the manufacturing stage—lithium batteries themselves—the value per tonne equivalent soars to between $50,000 and $80,000.
“So you can look at the metrics and see what we have been exporting in Zimbabwe. We are just getting $250 per metric tonne. Getting two steps ahead, we are talking of $22,000 per metric tonne.”
The Rural Development Dimension
Dr Moyo framed the beneficiation agenda not merely as a matter of national accounts but as a development imperative for mining communities.
“Think of the Zimbabwean in the rural area, the benefit that they will derive. $300 per metric tonne versus $22,000 per metric tonne. That’s the loss that we are incurring as a country.”
“When we are talking value addition, we are talking real business and real values. We are missing out as a country, and we need to up our game. The world will not wait for Zimbabwe.”
Dr Moyo outlined the broader economic benefits that flow from local processing, beginning with employment.
“The level of employment—if you look at mining, it means you are employing the miners. But if you go to upgrade, you are also employing higher-skilled people: chemical engineers, metallurgical technicians, and process engineers.”
“If you look at mining, you are limiting your employment levels. But if you go right up to value addition, you are enhancing the level of employment as well as industrial development.”
Technology transfer represents another critical benefit.
“Those people come—whether from China, India, or wherever—and they bring technology to Zimbabwe. They will not take it all away. That’s a benefit. Capacity building. They leave the skills here.”
She cited Dubai as an example of a jurisdiction that prioritises attracting investment and skills over short-term considerations.
“They don’t ask people a lot of questions if you are planning to locate there. Because what they are asking is, if you get bored with Dubai, you still leave the building—you don’t take the building. They still have the benefit.”
The Royalty Arithmetic
Dr Moyo illustrated the fiscal impact of processing using royalty calculations.
“For example, under current royalty rules, 5% on ore in 2025—you get $10 if you do raw ore.”
“But if you process further, you get $1,000. That’s a significant difference in terms of figures.”
Implementation: Zimbabwe’s Persistent Challenge
While acknowledging that the policy framework for value addition exists, Dr Moyo raised concerns about implementation.
“We talk like the recession has passed, but what kills Zimbabwe is implementation. We go one step ahead and take steps backwards.”
Her remarks resonated with an audience acutely aware of the gap between policy formulation and execution that has historically undermined Zimbabwe’s industrial ambitions.
With the government having suspended raw lithium exports and signalled that beneficiation is now non-negotiable, Dr Moyo’s presentation provided the empirical foundation for that policy shift.
The numbers leave little room for debate: $50 per tonne for raw ore versus $22,000 for battery-grade material represents a value multiple that no resource-rich nation can afford to ignore.
For mining communities, the promise is employment not just for diggers but for technicians, engineers, and process operators. For the fiscus, the potential is royalty revenues measured in thousands per tonne rather than tens of dollars. And for Zimbabwe’s long-term industrial trajectory, the opportunity is to capture not just extraction value but manufacturing value—batteries, solar panels, and the full spectrum of energy transition products.
The question, as Dr Moyo framed it, is whether Zimbabwe can finally implement what it has long promised.
“The world will not wait for Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe will trail behind, but everybody will continue to progress.”
