Zimbabwe bans raw lithium exports to curb artisanal mining
Zimbabwe has imposed a ban on the export of unprocessed lithium, according to a government notice seen by Reuters on Tuesday, in a bid to stop artisanal miners who the government says are digging up and taking the mineral across borders.
The southern African country holds some of the world's largest reserves of hard rock lithium, a vital mineral in the production of clean energy technologies.
Chinese giants Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group have over the past year acquired lithium mines and projects worth a combined $678 million in Zimbabwe and are at various stages of developing mines and processing plants, which would exempt them from the ban.
London-listed Premier African Minerals says it will start shipping spodumene concentrate from its Zimbabwe lithium mine to China from March 2023, after signing an offtake deal with Suzhou TA&A Ultra Clean Technology Co.
"No lithium bearing ores, or unbeneficiated lithium whatsoever, shall be exported from Zimbabwe to another country," read the regulation published in a government notice issued by Mines Minister Winston Chitando.
The notice said the ban does not apply to the export of lithium concentrates, which all the major lithium miners in the country plan to produce.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has previously said the ban would target hordes of artisanal miners, who were drawn by the mineral's high prices and invading abandoned mines to dig for lithium-bearing rocks. Mnangagwa said the raw lithium was being exported through neighbouring countries.
Comments
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
From batteries for boats and jet skis, to batteries for cars and quad bikes, SABAT Batteries has positioned itself as the lifestyle battery of...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Rentech provides renewable energy products and services to the local and selected African markets. Supplying inverters, lithium and lead-acid...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
