Zimbabwe suspends lithium concentrate exports

On Wednesday 25th February, the Zimbabwean government suspended all exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates, including material currently in transit. Exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore have been banned since 2022. This comes after a letter to Zimbabwe’s mining companies dated February 17th, which outlined the government’s intention to streamline its export permitting processes to “enhance efficiency”, address unsanctioned exports, crack down on export malpractices, and limit “leakage” of material. The global lithium market is currently tight, with supply and demand forecast to be largely balanced in 2026. There is currently no end date for the suspension. As such, it is unclear how much of Zimbabwe’s forecast supply for the year will be impacted, though it is likely to further tighten the market, potentially impacting prices.