Published: 2 hours ago

Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has issued a firm directive to Zimbabwe's lithium mining industry, ordering all companies to cease the export of raw ore and spodumene by January 2026 and to immediately establish value-addition and beneficiation facilities.

Dr Chiwenga made the announcement on Wednesday during a tour of Kamativi Mining Company as part of his ongoing familiarisation visits to economic projects across Matabeleland North.

While commending the revival of formerly defunct mines such as Kamativi, the Vice President stressed that the next phase of national economic transformation would focus on local processing and manufacturing to ensure Zimbabwe captures more value from its vast mineral wealth.

"Cabinet has already indicated that we now want further beneficiation for the economy," said Dr Chiwenga. "We can no longer keep on doing the extraction and shipping and giving other people the resources. As we have said, by January, we expect all companies that are now in lithium to stop exporting raw materials and start producing tangible products."

He said Zimbabwe's vision was to become a key industrial player within the Southern African region and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), noting that beneficiation would boost employment, stimulate technology transfer, and enhance national revenues.

"If we are going to make an electric vehicle, so be it. If we are going to make cell phones, so be it. Let us do something that is an end product. The precious mineral that we are taking must be processed to bring something that can proudly carry the label ‘Made in Zimbabwe,'" he declared.

The Vice President said the Government's focus on industrialisation and self-sufficiency was part of building a sustainable economic legacy.

"We have got generations that will follow us, and those generations must see that we built our country," he said.

Chiwenga also expressed optimism over the progress made in the mining sector, praising the resurgence of Kamativi — once a collapsed tin mine — which has been reborn as a key lithium producer under new investment.

"I am excited about what has taken place since 1910. The Government has done tremendously, bringing life back to the mines," he said.

The January deadline effectively sets a new benchmark for the sector, pushing lithium miners to invest in domestic value chains — from battery-grade production to potential manufacturing of electric vehicle components — marking what officials describe as a new chapter in Zimbabwe's industrial development.
- The Chronicle

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