Business Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s mineral export earnings, excluding gold and silver, more than doubled to US$4.735 billion in the first nine months of 2026, with lithium overtaking platinum group metals (PGMs) as the country’s leading mineral revenue earner.
The latest figures from the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) show that mineral export earnings increased 101.8% from US$2.347 billion recorded during the same period last year.
MMCZ’s figures exclude gold and silver because the corporation does not have a statutory mandate to market the two minerals.
Export volumes also increased by 23.4%, rising from 3.84 million tonnes to 4.738 million tonnes, according to figures presented by MMCZ general manager Nomusa Moyo.
Lithium accounted for US$2.159 billion, representing 45.6% of total mineral export earnings, while PGMs generated US$1.729 billion.
The development marks a significant shift in Zimbabwe’s mineral export structure, traditionally dominated by PGMs.
The surge in lithium earnings was largely driven by spodumene, petalite and lithium sulphate, with spodumene alone generating approximately US$1.812 billion, up 368.2% from the corresponding period last year.
The average realised value of spodumene also jumped sharply to about US$1,483 per tonne from US$387 a tonne a year earlier.
Moyo attributed lithium’s emergence as the leading revenue earner to government efforts to promote beneficiation, coupled with investment and operational improvements by mining companies.
“We attribute lithium’s emergence as the leading revenue earner to the beneficiation work being driven by Government, alongside producers’ investment and operational efforts,” Moyo said.
The figures also point to an increasing contribution from processed lithium products.
Petalite sales rose 583.3% to US$155.29 million, while lithium sulphate generated US$190.52 million from about 33,807 tonnes, despite recording no sales during the comparable period last year.
Moyo said the lithium sulphate figures demonstrated the growing contribution of value addition to Zimbabwe’s mineral exports.
“This demonstrates the contribution that further processing is beginning to make to export earnings,” she said.
The increase comes as Zimbabwe pushes mining companies to process more minerals locally rather than exporting raw materials and concentrates.
The government suspended exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates in February before introducing conditions for the resumption of shipments, including production quotas and commitments by mining companies to establish processing facilities.
Producers are expected to transition from concentrate exports to processed lithium products from January 1, 2027, although concerns have been raised over whether the country has sufficient processing capacity to meet the deadline.
China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt has already begun exporting lithium sulphate from its Arcadia processing facility, following a US$400 million investment in the plant.
Other Chinese mining companies, including Sinomine Resource Group and Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group, have also announced plans to establish lithium processing facilities in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, PGMs continued to perform strongly, with metal sales increasing 31.6% to about US$1.63 billion, while concentrate sales rose 69.8% to US$465.56 million.
Production and dispatches were, however, affected by furnace maintenance at Zimplats in September.
The broader increase in mineral earnings was also supported by higher international commodity prices, increased production, new markets and measures to curb mineral leakages.
In September alone, mineral export sales reached US$685.03 million, representing a 116.6% increase from the same month last year. Export volumes rose 70.8% to about 844,063 tonnes.
The MMCZ expects lithium demand to remain supported by battery manufacturing and energy-storage industries, although buyers are becoming more selective.
Commodity prices are expected to remain above 2025 levels during the final quarter of the year, although performance is likely to vary across minerals.
