Zimbabwe bans lithium exportsBy Enos Denhere / AFP, HARAREZimbabwe’s ban on raw lithium exports is forcing Chinese miners to rethink their strategy, speeding up plans to process the metal locally instead of shipping it to China’s vast rechargeable battery industry. Zimbabwe already banned the export of lithium ore in 2022 and last year announced it would halt exports of lithium concentrates from January next year. Photo: APHowever, on Wednesday it imposed the ban with immediate effect, leaving unclear what the lithium mining sector would do in the short term, as Zimbabwe has no facilities to process lithium concentrates. The Zimbabwean government’s moves to ban exports of raw minerals did not impress its critics. “A country like Zimbabwe is exporting raw lithium and, in the process, enriching China at its own expense,” Maguwu said.

Source: Taipei Times February 28, 2026 18:00 UTC