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exports","zimbabwe-suspends-lithium-concentrate-exports","article/zimbabwe-suspends-lithium-concentrate-exports",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":562,"content":572,"excerpt":831,"featured":51,"reporter":832,"component":842,"seo_title":543,"categories":843,"visibility":849,"data_vis_image":850,"featured_image":855,"seo_description":859,"formattedDate":860,"formattedArticleDate":861},"1bd8ada1-27d6-404b-a0a7-ab4431af58a8","2026-02-25 00:00",[550,553,556,559],{"slug":551,"name":552},"zimbabwe","Zimbabwe",{"slug":554,"name":555},"data-visualisation","Data Visualisation",{"slug":557,"name":558},"export-restrictions","Export restrictions",{"slug":560,"name":561},"spodumene","Spodumene",[563],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":566},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":567,"image":568,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":569},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":573,"content":574},"doc",[575,618,626,634,645,653,663,699,705,727,735,743,751,759,781,789,825],{"type":576,"attrs":577,"content":578},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[579,587,599,604,613],{"text":580,"type":581,"marks":582},"On Wednesday 25th February, the ","text",[583],{"type":584,"attrs":585},"textStyle",{"color":586},"#000000",{"text":588,"type":581,"marks":589},"Zimbabwean government",[590,597],{"type":591,"attrs":592},"link",{"href":593,"uuid":594,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/zimbabwe-africas-lithium-heartland","55306705-148d-46f7-ab80-27437cd2ac45","_self","story",{"type":584,"attrs":598},{"color":586},{"text":600,"type":581,"marks":601}," suspended all exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates, including material currently in transit. Exports of unbeneficiated lithium ore have been ",[602],{"type":584,"attrs":603},{"color":586},{"text":605,"type":581,"marks":606},"banned since 2022",[607,611],{"type":591,"attrs":608},{"href":609,"uuid":610,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/zimbabwes-lithium-ore-export-ban-highlights-africas-lithium-potential","30408142-cefa-4a5f-abbd-e10062096caa",{"type":584,"attrs":612},{"color":586},{"text":614,"type":581,"marks":615},".",[616],{"type":584,"attrs":617},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":581,"marks":623},"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.",[624],{"type":584,"attrs":625},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":627,"content":628},{"textAlign":49},[629],{"text":630,"type":581,"marks":631},"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.",[632],{"type":584,"attrs":633},{"color":586},{"type":635,"attrs":636},"blok",{"id":637,"body":638},"c0950273-3a4d-424d-b34f-390cac576fc4",[639],{"id":640,"_uid":641,"type":642,"component":643,"fixed_height":644,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":644,"fixed_height_tablet":644},"27793534","i-2e888344-ca10-44db-b295-e94693791022","visualisation","ContentFlourish","",{"type":576,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":581,"marks":650},"At the core of the government’s drive will be its new computerised export permit management system, which it had been trialling on a limited basis since summer 2025. In the February 17th letter, the government had initially warned exporters about potential delays relating to this process.",[651],{"type":584,"attrs":652},{"color":586},{"type":654,"attrs":655,"content":657},"heading",{"level":656,"textAlign":49},2,[658],{"text":659,"type":581,"marks":660},"What does this mean for Zimbabwe’s lithium production?",[661],{"type":584,"attrs":662},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666,671,680,685,694],{"text":667,"type":581,"marks":668},"Zimbabwe was ",[669],{"type":584,"attrs":670},{"color":586},{"text":672,"type":581,"marks":673},"Africa’s largest lithium producer",[674,678],{"type":591,"attrs":675},{"href":676,"uuid":677,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/africa-sees-largest-lithium-supply-growth-of-any-region-in-2025","d23cb2d3-7543-4bd4-b9a8-4bd5592bad0a",{"type":584,"attrs":679},{"color":586},{"text":681,"type":581,"marks":682}," in 2025, with an output of 132kt LCE. This figure is ",[683],{"type":584,"attrs":684},{"color":586},{"text":686,"type":581,"marks":687},"forecast to rise",[688,692],{"type":591,"attrs":689},{"href":690,"uuid":691,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/mali-set-to-become-africas-second-largest-lithium-producer-in-2025","97b8d569-e767-4be0-9abb-ee5e978adaa1",{"type":584,"attrs":693},{"color":586},{"text":695,"type":581,"marks":696}," to ~134kt LCE in 2026.",[697],{"type":584,"attrs":698},{"color":586},{"type":635,"attrs":700},{"id":637,"body":701},[702],{"id":703,"_uid":704,"type":642,"component":643,"fixed_height":644,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":644,"fixed_height_tablet":644},"27789313","i-f4c4bc8a-8ec5-4243-be40-705fcc264565",{"type":576,"attrs":706,"content":707},{"textAlign":49},[708,713,722],{"text":709,"type":581,"marks":710},"Within the wider Zimbabwean context, recent events could be a harbinger of things to come. Zimbabwe’s ban on ",[711],{"type":584,"attrs":712},{"color":586},{"text":714,"type":581,"marks":715},"lithium concentrate exports is set to enter into force in January 2027",[716,720],{"type":591,"attrs":717},{"href":718,"uuid":719,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/zimbabwe-to-ban-lithium-concentrate-exports-from-2027","2cb67dd2-7bf1-4398-bff8-512fa146020d",{"type":584,"attrs":721},{"color":586},{"text":723,"type":581,"marks":724},", and producers have been instructed to move to lithium chemical production by that deadline. ",[725],{"type":584,"attrs":726},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":728,"content":729},{"textAlign":49},[730],{"text":731,"type":581,"marks":732},"Recent changes to the country’s tax and royalty regime have offered further incentives for producers to develop chemical capacity. Direct-shipping ore (DSO) exports without express government consent are already banned.",[733],{"type":584,"attrs":734},{"color":586},{"type":654,"attrs":736,"content":737},{"level":656,"textAlign":49},[738],{"text":739,"type":581,"marks":740},"What impact could the suspension have?",[741],{"type":584,"attrs":742},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":744,"content":745},{"textAlign":49},[746],{"text":747,"type":581,"marks":748},"The claims of “leakage” and the export of banned raw materials may be overstated.  Unsanctioned DSO material is not believed to play a significant role in Zimbabwe's lithium export mix. While reports of smugglers operating under the cover of legal routes have surfaced, the affected volumes and contained mineral value are very small in comparison to the regular exports by the country’s major Chinese producers.",[749],{"type":584,"attrs":750},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":752,"content":753},{"textAlign":49},[754],{"text":755,"type":581,"marks":756},"With limited progress towards chemical production, permit suspensions serve as a stark reminder and demonstration of regulatory power, potentially further enhanced by the introduction of an electronic permit management system.",[757],{"type":584,"attrs":758},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":760,"content":761},{"textAlign":49},[762,767,776],{"text":763,"type":581,"marks":764},"Idled capacity from Arcadia and Bikita’s petalite lines, as well as Premier’s troubled Zulu project, could potentially offer incremental supply to Benchmark’s 2026 forecast if current market tightness and strong demand signals from Chinese ",[765],{"type":584,"attrs":766},{"color":586},{"text":768,"type":581,"marks":769},"energy storage",[770,774],{"type":591,"attrs":771},{"href":772,"uuid":773,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/saudis-bisha-battery-energy-storage-project-uses-30000-evs-worth-of-battery-minerals","a1c5b447-2917-45e6-832c-cc9c3e0dc267",{"type":584,"attrs":775},{"color":586},{"text":777,"type":581,"marks":778}," LFP producers persist past Q1 2026. However, the increased regulatory friction, as well as chemical capacity bottlenecking exports from 2027 onwards, dampen optimism in this regard.",[779],{"type":584,"attrs":780},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":782,"content":783},{"textAlign":49},[784],{"text":785,"type":581,"marks":786},"Despite mixed feedback, sources have suggested to Benchmark that lithium sulphate exports are also impacted. Sulphate capacity under construction at Huayou’s Arcadia and Sinomine’s Bikita projects are forecast to produce 20kt LCE and 2kt LCE in 2026, respectively.",[787],{"type":584,"attrs":788},{"color":586},{"type":576,"attrs":790,"content":791},{"textAlign":49},[792,797,806,811,820],{"text":793,"type":581,"marks":794},"Disruption to Zimbabwean supply, or the perceived risk thereof, is likely to send ",[795],{"type":584,"attrs":796},{"color":586},{"text":798,"type":581,"marks":799},"lithium prices",[800,804],{"type":591,"attrs":801},{"href":802,"uuid":803,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/deja-vu-in-battery-raw-materials-is-the-2021-playbook-repeating-","d935e80b-5abf-484c-a751-e698ccaf6e18",{"type":584,"attrs":805},{"color":586},{"text":807,"type":581,"marks":808}," higher in the short term. Long lead times for arrivals in China further exacerbate this dynamic, extracting a greater sentiment-driven risk premium, especially within the context of a market burned by the repeated downplaying of regulatory risk relating to ",[809],{"type":584,"attrs":810},{"color":586},{"text":812,"type":581,"marks":813},"Jiangxi Province",[814,818],{"type":591,"attrs":815},{"href":816,"uuid":817,"anchor":49,"target":595,"linktype":596},"/article/what-do-the-recent-jiangxi-permit-cancellations-mean-for-the-lithium-industry","f1d4e410-77c1-4103-8b56-b84209e2fc88",{"type":584,"attrs":819},{"color":586},{"text":821,"type":581,"marks":822}," since summer 2025.",[823],{"type":584,"attrs":824},{"color":586},{"type":635,"attrs":826},{"id":637,"body":827},[828],{"id":829,"_uid":830,"type":642,"component":643,"fixed_height":644,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":644,"fixed_height_tablet":644},"27789881","i-93f76ac2-e3f1-4d7a-a564-4f606f6a7a50","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.\n\nThis 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.\n\nThe 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.",[833],{"slug":834,"name":835,"content":836},"luc-braun","Luc Braun",{"job_title":837,"image":838,"bio":840,"linkedin":841,"markets_covered":8},"Analyst - Lithium",{"filename":839},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/6f1a6949aa/luc-braun.jpeg","Luc is an analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence focused on lithium supply, costs, and supply chains. Luc has a background in market analysis and research from previous roles where he covered nickel, deep seabed mining, and telecommunications. Luc holds an MPhys in Theoretical Physics from the University of Leeds.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucbraun/","article",[844,847],{"slug":845,"name":846},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":848,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":851,"alt":644,"name":644,"focus":644,"title":644,"source":644,"filename":852,"copyright":644,"fieldtype":853,"meta_data":854,"is_external_url":50},149565523174515,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/1588x2006/2caebdd109/zimbabwe-s-lithium-scene-2x.png","asset",{},{"id":856,"alt":644,"name":644,"focus":644,"title":644,"source":644,"filename":857,"copyright":644,"fieldtype":853,"meta_data":858,"is_external_url":50},129072559928681,"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/65b4a8a208/bm-shutterstock-603910874-1293753d04d9.jpg",{},"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.","Feb 25, 2026","25th February 2026",[],[],1780670042117]