The Impact Of Zimbabwe's Policy Of Prohibiting The Export Of Antimony And Tungsten Ores Has Been Uneven.

According to local media reports and confirmed by multiple sources, an order from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Mines and Mining Development stated that the country has suspended the export of all forms of antimony and tungsten, including ores and concentrates, until further notice.
Although traders expect this move to have the least impact on the global tungsten market, this restriction may tighten the supply of antimony to Asian processors. This ban immediately halted exports through the Zimbabwe Mineral Sales Corporation (MMCZ), which sells all minerals in the country except gold and silver. The order did not specify how long this measure would last. According to Agence France-Presse, the command did not provide guidance on existing inventories, export contracts, or transportation plans before the suspension took effect. Journalists were unable to immediately contact MMCZ for comment. However, it is heard that antimony mine sellers have informed at least one trading company in South Africa of this measure.
Zimbabwe is increasingly implementing policies aimed at extracting more value from its mineral resources through domestic processing and beneficiation rather than exporting raw materials. This brings antimony and tungsten into a broader global trend where resource-rich countries are tightening control over raw material exports to encourage local added value. These two minerals were not previously subject to such restrictions in Zimbabwe.
The ban may tighten the supply of antimony to Asia
Although Zimbabwe accounts for only a small portion of global supply, the antimony market is expected to be most affected. Some market participants estimate that more than 500 tons of antimony ore from Zimbabwe flow through regional trade routes each month. However, official customs data show that Zimbabwe exported 162 tons of antimony ore and concentrates in 2024, mainly to China and Mozambique. China imported 763 tons of antimony concentrate from Zimbabwe in 2025. Traders said that a large portion of Zimbabwean materials was exported through logistics corridors in South Africa and Mozambique, which may not be fully reflected in Zimbabwe's direct export statistics. Depending on the grade, the higher reported quantities by market participants may be equivalent to only a few hundred tons of antimony content per year, far below the global annual supply of 80,000-90,000 tons.
Some antimony ore supplies are for smelters in Southeast Asia, so the suspension of supply may affect processors in the region, many of whom are already dealing with weak profit margins and falling prices. One antimony trader said that this suspension would increase market tensions. He added that some raw materials would also flow to China. But traders and consumers outside China reported that since the surge in antimony prices last year, offers for antimony ore and concentrates from Zimbabwe have increased actively.
The actual impact of this measure is unclear. The order also leaves uncertainty over whether materials already in transit are allowed to leave the region. A source said that Zimbabwe has recently developed the capacity to produce metal antimony ingots with a purity of approximately 99.7%. Therefore, the suspension of exports can support the government's ability to increase domestic deep processing and enhance added value by introducing more raw materials into local processing.
This measure has little impact on the tungsten market
Market participants expect that the tungsten export ban will have little impact on the international tungsten supply chain. In the global tungsten market, Zimbabwe is not considered an important producer. One trader said that Zimbabwe tungsten does not belong to any Western processor's supply chain, so its impact on the Western market is zero. The trader added that this measure will mainly affect materials destined for China. China imported only 60 tons of tungsten concentrate from Zimbabwe in 2025, accounting for a negligible portion of the total imports. Unlike Zimbabwe's ban on lithium ore and concentrate in 2022, this ban suddenly cut off the supply of raw materials to Chinese smelters, reshaping market expectations. Traders expect the suspension of tungsten production to not significantly alter the market balance.