African mining industry news on July 21: According to Reuters, despite the persistent weakness of global lithium prices, the export volume of spodumene concentrate from Zimbabwe, the largest lithium producer in Africa, has shown a strong growth trend.
According to the latest statistics from the Zimbabwe Mineral Marketing Company (MMCZ), in the first half of 2025, the export volume of lithium spodumene concentrate in the country reached 586,197 tons, a significant increase of 30% compared to 451,824 tons in the same period last year, demonstrating the vigorous vitality of lithium resource development.
As a core raw material for new energy batteries, the price of lithium has experienced significant fluctuations in the past two years. Data shows that due to global oversupply, the price of lithium has dropped by nearly 90% over the past two years. Nevertheless, the Zimbabwean authorities pointed out that the current lithium market presents a contradictory feature of "continuously rising demand but falling prices".
"Over the long term, as the global transition to clean energy and the development of the electric vehicle industry accelerate, the strategic value of lithium resources will become even more prominent. We are optimistic about the medium-term recovery of lithium prices," MMCZ stated.
At present, enterprises such as Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Industry, Zhongmin Resources, Chengxin Lithium Industry, Ya Zha Group and Qingshan Holdings in China have become the core forces in the development of lithium mines in Zimbabwe.
According to MMCZ, since 2021, Chinese enterprises have invested over 1.4 billion US dollars in the acquisition and development of local lithium resources, thereby forming a complete industrial chain from raw ore mining to refined ore transportation.
It is worth noting that in order to enhance the added value of resources, Zimbabwe has clearly defined its policy direction - it plans to prohibit the direct export of lithium spodumene concentrate starting from 2027, forcing the industrial chain to extend to local processing stages. In response to this, leading enterprises have taken the lead in making arrangements. Among them, Huayou Cobalt, which plans to export 400,000 tons of lithium spodumene from Zimbabwe in 2024, has already initiated a project to build a 50,000-ton per year lithium sulfate plant locally; Zhongmin Resources also announced that it will invest 500 million US dollars in its Bikita mining area to build a lithium sulfate production base.
