Last week, Zimbabwe suspended the export of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates to promote local processing. Analysts warn, however, that this move could backfire, disrupt existing trade flows, and frustrate the country’s foreign capital inflows.
Polite Kambamura, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Mines and Mining Development, stated the policy takes effect immediately. It applies to all minerals, including those already in transit.
“Government expects cooperation of the mining industry on this measure which has been taken in the national interest,” the minister said in a statement, adding that the country remains committed to ensuring transparency, in-country value addition and beneficiation, compliance, and accountability in the exportation of Zimbabwe’s mineral resources.
This decision brings forward the original 2027 timeline for halting lithium concentrate exports. While the initial deadline provided mining companies a window to establish domestic refineries, the new order eliminates that transition period entirely.
For years, Zimbabwe has maintained the largest lithium reserves in Africa and remains a key supplier to global battery makers. The country exported 1.1 million tonnes of lithium concentrate between January and December 2025, an 11 percent increase over 2024.
According to the World Bank, mining serves as Zimbabwe’s second-largest contributor to gross domestic product, accounting for over 14 percent of output. However, experts warn that the recent export ban on raw minerals and lithium concentrates could strip this success from the country.
The 2022 ban on raw lithium exports serves as a primary example of these risks. Zimbabwe lost millions of dollars through the illicit export of raw lithium after the government introduced a ban to force miners to process the mineral locally. Like the recent policy, the earlier decision aimed to boost earnings by keeping value-addition within the country.
However, an investigation by Global Press Journal, in collaboration with the Africa Policy Research Institute, revealed that miners continued to smuggle raw lithium by falsifying export declarations at the borders. With local processing capacity still limited, smuggling remains largely unchecked. Despite this, the government has now extended the policy to all other raw minerals, including chromium, gold, and platinum.
The Global Press findings align with the broader consequences of protectionist policies. For instance, Nigeria’s repeated rice import bans and border closures restricted cross-border trade flows. These consequences proved counterproductive; traders resorted to smuggling and parallel markets, mostly importing rice through Benin, which undermined official revenue and distorted prices.
Zimbabwe can also learn from the consequences of Nigeria’s export ban on agricultural products. In August 2025, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu imposed a six-month ban on raw shea nut exports to encourage local processing. Findings by The Liberalist revealed that exporters faced potential contract defaults and legal exposure due to the abrupt change. And because Nigeria lacked sufficient domestic processing capacity, demand for raw nuts dropped sharply, causing prices to plunge and significantly reducing incomes for producers and women in the shea trade.
The policy harmed the livelihoods of millions of female collectors who depend on export markets, contradicting the government’s goal of boosting rural income.
“While export restrictions can in some circumstances have positive effects on domestic processing or fiscal revenue, these can occur at the expense of trading partners and environmental objectives, and could also contribute to further concentration of supply,” a study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has shown. “With no country having all the minerals needed for all purposes and all countries being affected by reduced access to critical raw materials, there is a strong case for plurilateral or multilateral co-operation to restrain the use of export restrictions and devise more mutually beneficial alternatives.”
