Zimbabwe Plans Strategic Lithium Policy

The global market for lithium-ion batteries is set to explode over the course of the next decade, and Zimbabwe wants a part of it. Currently worth about $79 billion (Shaha) US, that figure is set to increase dramatically to around $350 billion by 2034. Being Africa’s main source of lithium, Zimbabwe is in a strategic position to take advantage of this boom in demand. Recently, the government has enacted new policies to adapt to this dynamic market; in 2022, (Shaha) Harare banned the export of raw lithium ore and is looking to do the same with lithium concentrate by January of 2027. Though the country plans to increase domestic manufacturing and processing of lithium products, there are significant challenges with implementing this economic policy that will complicate the government’s efforts at developing its domestic lithium industry.

Background

Zimbabwe is a country of a little over 17 million people located in southern Africa. Most of the country consists of upland plateaus and mountain ranges that run along the country’s eastern border with Mozambique. This geography has blessed Zimbabwe with mineral deposits, including not just lithium, but also deposits of coal, gold, platinum, and copper, to name a few. Zimbabwe possesses so much mineral wealth that its new currency, called the “ZiG,” shorthand for “Zimbabwe gold,” was launched in April of 2024, which is partially backed by a basket of precious minerals.

Zimbabwe also possesses a well-developed (Geography Now) road and rail infrastructure compared to much of sub-Saharan Africa. This has allowed it to achieve a lower-middle income economic status according to the World Bank in 2019, and it has a GDP per capita of about $2200 in 2025 according to the IMF.

Analysis

These economic indicators and geographic features come against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s mineral boom. Beginning in the 1950s, during the colonial Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Zimbabwe has been a major producer of lithium. With demand for electric vehicles surging, Zimbabwe’s lithium extraction industry has been flourishing. Like many sub-Saharan countries, much of this natural mineral wealth is being exported to other countries. The Zimbabwean government wants to change this. By banning the export of lithium ore in 2022 and lithium concentrate in 2027, Harare is looking to spur domestic value-added industries in a way that benefits the economy and contributes to national resilience.

There are, however, drawbacks. First, banning the legal export of lithium effectively incentivizes smugglers to transport lithium to international markets, as the domestic market is flooded with cheap lithium. Second, the reduced profit margins for extracting lithium could significantly hurt artisanal miners as well as deter investment in the extraction sector. Finally, though its transport infrastructure is robust, setting up the necessary logistics for efficient lithium processing, specifically electricity and industrial technology, will be a challenge.

Attempting to develop lithium manufacturing, even with the export bans, is a tall order. Zimbabwe’s debt-to-GDP hovers around 95% (Zimbabwe national debt), unusually high for an emerging market. Its new ZiG currency suffers from a lack of widespread faith in its ability to retain value. Corruption is endemic; in 2024, Zimbabwe ranked (Zimbabwe-Transparency) 158 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. By and large, the country struggles significantly with maintaining investor confidence, a key ingredient that other manufacturing hubs like Vietnam, Kenya, and other economies have managed to sustain.

The success of Zimbabwe in developing a homegrown lithium processing industry depends more on the conditions for doing business in the country than it does on government policy that does not address the root issues of why Zimbabwe lacks such a mineral processing base to begin with.

Citations:

Shaba, J. (2025, July 14). Zimbabwe’s lithium is in demand for making batteries - how to make sure benefits flow to the local economy. allAfrica.com. https://allafrica.com/stories/202507140076.html

Youtube. (2024). Geogprahy Now! Zimbabwe. Retrieved July 18, 2025, from

Zimbabwe - transparency.org. (n.d.). https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/zimbabwe

Zimbabwe national debt 2024. countryeconomy.com. (2025, April 23). https://countryeconomy.com/national-debt/zimbabwe

{ geoitem.label }. IMF. (n.d.). https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/ZWE