Zimbabwe rejects lithium miners’ request to delay export ban
Zimbabwe has confirmed it will proceed with a ban on lithium concentrate exports starting January 1, rejecting industry requests for a delay. The government aims to encourage domestic processing of the metal, which is essential for electric vehicle batteries.
Why it matters
As a major global lithium supplier, Zimbabwe's policy shift impacts the supply chain for Chinese battery manufacturers and the global electric vehicle market.
Zimbabwe won’t defer a ban on exports of lithium concentrate that’s scheduled to come into effect in January, Mines Minister Polite Kambamura said, rejecting a request by the industry to postpone the moratorium until at least March.
“We are still sticking with January 1,” Kambamura told reporters on Friday at a mine owned by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, 48 kilometers (30 miles) east of the capital, Harare.
Zimbabwe halted shipments of lithium concentrate in February to promote domestic processing of higher value products and curb illegal shipments of the metal that’s used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. Like other African nations including Guinea, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe is seeking to derive more value from its natural resources.
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