Zimbabwe today stands at the centre of a global scramble for critical minerals. Lithium, nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements, once peripheral commodities, have become the backbone of the clean energy transition, electric mobility and the digital economy.
By Christopher Mudekunye
While the country is richly endowed with these resources, its mining economy remains anchored in a linear, extract-and-export model that delivers limited long-term value. As global demand accelerates, the real question is no longer how much Zimbabwe can mine, but how intelligently it can manage and retain value from its mineral wealth.
The coming minerals shock
The global transition from fossil fuels to electrified systems is driving an unprecedented surge in demand for critical minerals. Projections suggest that demand for lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper could increase fivefold or more by 2040. This demand surge is colliding with structural constraints: long mine development timelines, geopolitical tensions, volatile prices and mounting environmental and social resistance to new extraction.
For Zimbabwe, these pressures are already visible in the instability of lithium markets, regulatory uncertainty, infrastructure constraints and rising community tensions around mining projects. Expanding extraction alone, without rethinking the broader system, risks locking the country into a volatile and low-value position in global supply chains.
Why the linear mining model is failing Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s mining sector still largely follows a colonial-era logic: extract raw materials, export them with minimal processing, and import finished products at a premium. This approach strips the economy of downstream value, exports jobs and skills, and deepens dependence on foreign processors and refiners. It also amplifies environmental degradation and social conflict, while exposing the country to sharp commodity price swings.
In the lithium sector, for instance, concentrates are shipped abroad for processing, only for Zimbabwe to import batteries and energy storage systems at many times the original export value. This model may generate short-term foreign currency inflows, but it undermines industrialisation and long-term economic sovereignty.
The circular economy alternative
A circular economy for critical minerals offers a fundamentally different pathway. Rather than treating minerals as one-use inputs, circular systems aim to keep materials in productive use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value before recovery and reintegration. This approach does not eliminate mining, but it reduces over-reliance on virgin extraction while strengthening supply security.
For Zimbabwe, embracing circularity means redesigning value chains, business models and industrial systems so that minerals circulate within the economy through reuse, repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing. These approaches deliver higher economic returns, lower emissions and reduced social costs compared to purely extractive strategies.
Hidden mineral wealth above ground
Zimbabwe’s policy discourse remains fixated on what lies underground, yet significant mineral value already exists above ground. End-of-life electronics, obsolete machinery, decommissioned energy infrastructure and industrial scrap contain recoverable quantities of copper, nickel, lithium and rare earths. As the country’s economy modernises, volumes of electronic and industrial waste will only increase.
Globally, end-of-life copper waste alone is projected to exceed the annual output of the world’s largest mines within the next decade. Zimbabwe risks losing similar value through informal, inefficient and environmentally harmful disposal practices if it fails to build structured recovery systems.
Jobs, not just exports
Circular mineral systems are inherently more labour-intensive in productive ways. Repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing activities create skilled and semi-skilled employment that cannot easily be offshored. In a country grappling with high youth unemployment and de-industrialisation, this employment potential is as important as export earnings.
By circulating materials domestically and regionally, Zimbabwe can reduce import dependency, strengthen supply chain resilience and build a more diversified industrial base. In an era of sanctions, trade disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty, such resilience is a strategic asset.
Technology has caught up
The argument that circular mineral systems are technologically out of reach no longer holds. Advances in asset tracking, modular design, artificial intelligence-driven sorting and diagnostics, and improved recycling technologies have made circular solutions commercially viable even in emerging economies. The constraint is not technology, but policy coherence, access to finance and institutional capacity.
With the right regulatory signals and investment frameworks, Zimbabwe could adapt existing technologies to local conditions and leapfrog older, wasteful models of mineral use.
Policy must catch up with geology
Globally, governments are beginning to align mineral policy with industrial strategy and climate goals. The European Union, China and the United States are all integrating recycling, product design and supply security into their critical minerals frameworks. Zimbabwe, however, continues to treat recycling and reuse as peripheral environmental issues rather than central economic strategies.
A coherent national approach would align mining policy with industrial development, energy planning and waste management, ensuring that value is retained across the full life cycle of minerals rather than lost at the point of export.
The cost of delay
The infrastructure, products and energy systems being built today will shape mineral flows for decades. If Zimbabwe locks itself into linear extraction models now, transitioning later will be far more costly and complex. Early adoption of circular approaches allows systems to be designed for recovery and reuse from the outset, avoiding structural lock-in.
Delay, by contrast, risks forfeiting regional leadership, bargaining power and long-term competitiveness in global value chains.
A strategic choice, not a technical one
Ultimately, the circular economy is not a technical debate but a strategic one. Zimbabwe can continue to act as a raw-material supplier to the global energy transition, or it can position itself as a steward of critical minerals that maximise value, employment and resilience. The choice will determine whether the country’s mineral wealth becomes a foundation for sustainable development or another missed opportunity in a rapidly changing global economy.
