Will Zimbabwe’s lithium strategy help it break into the value-adding game?

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Arcadia starts processing Chinese lithium in hopes of snapping the ‘digging and shipping’ cycle following Harare’s raw mineral export ban

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Jevans NyabiagePublished: 3:00pm, 24 May 2026Zimbabwe is betting that its move into lithium processing will finally break the cycle of digging and shipping ore that has defined its mining sector for decades.

This follows the export of the continent’s first consignment of lithium sulphate by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, from its US$400 million Arcadia mine near Harare last month.

The milestone came after Harare unexpectedly brought forward its ban on raw mineral exports to February this year to curb widespread smuggling and ensure the country derived maximum value from its resources.

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The Arcadia plant has the capacity to produce 50,000 metric tonnes annually of lithium sulphate, an intermediate product that can be further refined into battery-manufacturing staples such as lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate.

To retain access, Chinese firms have poured more than US$1.4 billion into local projects to develop mines and build refineries that satisfy the new bans, allowing Huayou to avoid a 10 per cent export tax on raw concentrates.Advertisement

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe described the shipment as a “landmark achievement”, noting that it marked the first lithium salt ever produced on the continent. The firm said that “this milestone underscores the country’s emergence as a key player in the global lithium value chain and highlights the progress being made towards in-country value addition”.

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