By Nigel Pfunde
HARARE – Zimbabwe has set a new record with the export of the first lithium salt shipment ever produced in the country and across Africa, marking a historic milestone in the nation’s mineral beneficiation drive.
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt shipped the inaugural consignment of lithium sulphate from its Zimbabwe mine just two months after the government halted exports of lithium concentrates over allegations of malpractice and leakages.
“This inaugural shipment represents the first lithium salt ever produced in Zimbabwe and across Africa, marking a major step forward in regional mineral beneficiation and industrialisation,” Huayou’s Zimbabwe unit said in a statement posted on X late Monday.
The company did not disclose the size of the consignment.
Huayou completed the $400 million plant in October 2025. The facility has the capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons annually of lithium sulphate, an intermediate product that can be refined into lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate for battery manufacturing.
Zimbabwe, Africa’s top lithium producer, has been pressing miners to process more of the battery metal locally. The government recently imposed a 10 percent tax on lithium concentrate exports, though the levy does not apply to lithium sulphate.
Zimbabwe will ban lithium concentrate exports altogether from January 2027, but froze all exports of the concentrated mineral on February 25, citing “malpractices during the exportation of minerals.”
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In April, Zimbabwe introduced lithium concentrate export quotas and set conditions for resumption, including mandatory publication of mines’ annual financial statements as well as labour, safety and environmental standards.
To date, Sichuan Yahua, Chengxin Lithium and Sinomine have been allocated lithium concentrate export quotas by the mines ministry.
Huayou has not disclosed whether it has been granted a quota. The company was not immediately available for comment.
Chinese firms dominate Zimbabwe’s lithium mining sector. In 2025, Zimbabwe exported 1.13 million metric tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China, accounting for about 15 percent of its lithium concentrate imports for the year.
