Lithium has overtaken platinum group metals (PGMs) as Zimbabwe’s largest mineral export after gold. Lithium sales reached $2.16 billion in the nine months to September, nearly four times the level a year earlier, against $1.73 billion for PGMs, according to Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe figures reported on 8 October. Spodumene concentrate earned $1.8 billion as its price rose 283%, while lithium sulphate from a Chinese-built processing plant added $190 million. The surge strengthens the government’s push to process more ore at home and raises the state’s foreign-currency income, but it ties export earnings to a metal whose price fell sharply in 2023 and 2024.
Sources
- Mining Weekly (Reuters): https://www.miningweekly.com/article/zimbabwes-lithium-export-earnings-surge-on-higher-spodumene-prices-2026-10-08
- bne IntelliNews: https://intellinews.com/zimbabwe-s-non-gold-mineral-export-earnings-double-to-4-74bn-as-lithium-overtakes-pgms-474494
- Further Africa: https://furtherafrica.com/2026/10/09/zimbabwe-lithium-exports-hit-2-16bn-in-nine-months/