VP Chiwenga Warns Against Raw Lithium Exports, Urges Rural Industrialisation
- Southerton Business Times
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Percy Nhara
HARARE – Zimbabwe risks being judged harshly by future generations if it fails to industrialise its rural communities and retain value from its mineral wealth, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has warned.
Speaking during a familiarisation tour of Sandawana Mine on Wednesday, Chiwenga supported the Cabinet’s decision to immediately ban the export of raw lithium and lithium concentrates, accelerating a restriction that had originally been planned for 2027. The mine, located in Mberengwa, is owned by the Mutapa Investment Fund under its energy minerals portfolio.
Standing before the open pit at Sandawana, Chiwenga said the current generation would be remembered with contempt if Zimbabwe’s vast lithium reserves were extracted without creating lasting economic benefits.
“It would be foolish to leave no legacy for future generations,” he said. “They will ask about those pits and we will tell them it was a lithium mine. They will ask what we benefitted, and if there is nothing to show, it will be a shame on us.”
Push for Value Addition
The vice president emphasised that Zimbabwe must transition from exporting raw minerals to developing local processing industries capable of adding value to its resources.
“If we don’t leave anything for the future generations, they will spit on our graves,” he said. “Let us leave a legacy that will be respected.”
He criticised the country’s previous experience with raw lithium exports, noting that the practice caused environmental damage and infrastructure strain without delivering meaningful national gains.
“We were exporting lithium ore, our roads were getting destroyed by trucks, pollution, and everything, but we were getting nothing,” Chiwenga said. “When we do mining, we should do value addition for economic growth.”
Rural Industrialisation Vision
Chiwenga said mineral processing should drive industrialisation in rural communities where the resources are located, helping to transform economic opportunities beyond urban centres.
“We want rural industrialisation and the growth of our nation,” he said. “We want to live to see the day where we will have tall buildings in Mberengwa, modern infrastructure where we once had pastures and mines. We must build cities here in the rurals.”
Zimbabwe is believed to hold some of the largest lithium reserves in Africa, making the mineral a strategic resource in the global energy transition and electric vehicle supply chains.
Lithium Plant Plans
His remarks came as Sandawana Mine announced plans to build a lithium concentrator plant costing up to US$275 million. The facility is expected to process three million tonnes of ore annually, with commissioning targeted for December 2027. Officials say the government’s decision to accelerate the ban on raw lithium exports was prompted by widespread abuse of the window period originally granted to mining companies to prepare for beneficiation.
On Tuesday, Mines Minister Polite Kambamura said some operators had used the grace period to intensify mining and stockpile lithium ore. Authorities also reported cases in which the ore was illicitly transported to neighbouring countries for future export.
Government spokesperson Ndavaningi Mangwana condemned the practice, describing it as “nothing less than the plunder of our national heritage” and “a direct undermining of our sovereignty”.
The Cabinet decision effectively closes the export window for unprocessed lithium with immediate effect.
‘Beneficiation Is No Longer Optional’
Addressing traditional leaders during the tour, Chiwenga said mineral beneficiation is now central to Zimbabwe’s economic transformation agenda.
“We are not the first nor the last,” he said. “There are generations who came before us and left these natural resources. We should do the same and leave wealth for future generations.”
The vice president is expected to tour several other mining projects in the Midlands province over the next three days as part of the government’s push to strengthen local value addition in the mining sector.
Zimbabwe lithium export ban; VP Chiwenga
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