HARARE – Zimbabwe is upgrading its mineral testing infrastructure in a renewed effort to curb revenue leakages from lithium exports, improve transparency in mineral valuation and maximise earnings from one of the country’s fastest-growing mining sectors.
According to Business Insider Africa, the government is investing in modern ore-testing laboratories to strengthen the accuracy of mineral assessments, enabling authorities to properly value lithium and associated rare minerals before they are exported.
The programme, being implemented by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development in collaboration with the Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), will begin with the expansion and modernisation of the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Harare before being rolled out to laboratories across the country.
The enhanced testing capacity is expected to improve accountability throughout the mining value chain, reduce the risk of undervaluation of mineral exports and ensure Zimbabwe receives appropriate royalties from lithium and other strategic minerals.
Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said the government was investing in laboratory infrastructure to better identify the wide range of valuable minerals contained within lithium ore.
“On the issue of minerals in a multi-ore body that we call lithium ore, there are other rare minerals in there being separated,” Prof Ncube said, as quoted by Business Insider Africa.
“For pure lithium, the beneficiation story is the story; it will continue. For lithium ore, as the Government, we are investing in and setting up laboratories to test the ore so we can set the right royalties for these other minerals.”
He acknowledged that lithium ore contains numerous associated rare minerals whose commercial value has yet to be fully determined.
“However, it is clear that the list of rare minerals is long and we may need more capacity and support to really know what is in this ore, but it will start with investment in testing labs.
“We are doing this as Government through the Ministry of Mines, and we are collaborating with our universities like the University of Zimbabwe and the School of Mines, among others,” he said.
Permanent Secretary for Mines and Mining Development Dr Thomas Utete-Wushe said the upgraded National Metallurgical Laboratory would become Zimbabwe’s principal reference facility for mineral testing across the entire mining value chain.
“The Ministry has resolved to capacitate and expand the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Harare into a comprehensive national reference laboratory capable of testing minerals across the entire mining value chain, from exploration samples to beneficiation and final product analysis,” Dr Utete-Wushe said.
He said the initiative forms part of a five-year development programme financed with support from MMCZ.
According to Dr Utete-Wushe, significant progress has already been made through the procurement of advanced analytical equipment, including an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES), and a Carbon and Sulphur analyser.
The latest investment comes as global demand for lithium continues to rise, driven by its critical role in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage systems.
Zimbabwe, which possesses some of Africa’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits, has intensified efforts to move up the mineral value chain by promoting domestic processing and beneficiation instead of exporting raw materials.
Earlier this year, the government suspended exports of raw lithium concentrates amid concerns over revenue leakages and alleged irregularities in the marketing of the strategic mineral.
The move followed an earlier policy announcement that Zimbabwe intends to prohibit lithium concentrate exports from January 2027 in order to encourage local processing and increase value addition.
However, mining companies have since requested an extension of the implementation deadline to around the middle of 2027, arguing that additional time is required to complete processing facilities currently under construction.
By strengthening laboratory infrastructure and mineral analysis capabilities, the government hopes to improve investor confidence, ensure fair pricing of strategic minerals and secure greater economic returns from Zimbabwe’s expanding lithium industry, Business Insider Africa reported.
