Zimbabwe's lithium export earnings jump 230% to $782m in first half

Zimbabwe's lithium export revenue more than tripled in the first half of 2026, reaching $782 million against $237 million in the same period of 2025, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in his mid-year budget update.

The 230% increase makes lithium about 12% of the country's mineral export earnings, placing it third behind gold and platinum group metals, according to a summary of the statement published by Finimize. Mining Weekly also reported the 230% rise.

Price, not volume

The jump owes more to prices and product mix than to tonnage. The government expects 2026 production of 2.14 million tonnes, slightly below the 2.2 million tonnes recorded last year. Lithium prices have also firmed this year, and the country began exporting its first processed lithium chemical in April when Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt's lithium sulphate plant at Arcadia came into operation.

The finance ministry also acknowledged the disruption caused by February's suspension of concentrate exports, which was imposed over what officials described as leakages and malpractice. Exports resumed from April under a quota system, but the state's mineral export agency has warned of significant stockpiles building up at mine sites.

The 2027 squeeze

The budget statement reaffirmed that exports of lithium concentrate will be banned from January 2027. From that point, only processed products such as lithium sulphate will be allowed to leave the country, which makes conversion capacity the binding constraint on the whole industry.

The operator base is dominated by Chinese groups: Huayou, Sinomine, Chengxin Lithium, Sichuan Yahua and Tsingshan Holding Group. Only Huayou's plant is currently running. Sinomine is building a sulphate plant at Bikita and Yahua one at Kamativi, but neither is due to be finished before the deadline.

Why it matters

The first-half numbers give the government ammunition. They show that tighter controls have not killed the golden goose, and that value addition, however limited so far, is beginning to register in the trade figures. But they also expose the risk ahead. If mines keep producing and plants are not ready by January, stockpiles will grow and working capital will be locked up at site, a cash-flow problem for producers and a revenue problem for the treasury.

Investors will be watching for any sign of flexibility in the deadline, and for construction progress at Bikita and Kamativi, in the second half of the year.

Sources

• Finimize: Zimbabwe's Lithium Exports Hit $782 Million In Half A Year, 30 Jul 2026
• Mining Weekly: Zimbabwe half-year lithium exports up 230%, 31 Jul 2026

Photo: View of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, from Chiremba Road. Itaisibanda, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.