Zimbabwe exports 30% more spodumene despite low lithium prices
Zimbabwe’s exports of spodumene concentrate, a material that contains lithium and is needed to make batteries, rose by 30% in the first half of 2025, even though the price of lithium around the world was low.
Reuters got data from the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) on Monday that shows Africa’s biggest lithium producer shipped 586,197 metric tons of spodumene concentrate from January to June. This is up from 451,824 metric tons during the same time last year.
Prices of lithium, which is used in batteries that power renewable energy technologies, have dropped almost 90% in the last two years. This is mostly because there is too much of the metal on the market, but producers are still optimistic about its long-term prospects because of the push for cleaner energy sources and electric cars around the world.
A big problem was seen in the lithium market, where prices went down even though demand for lithium metal kept going up, according to a statement from MMCZ, Zimbabwe’s government-run minerals dealer.
“Lithium prices are, however, expected to improve in the medium-term,” said it.
They are Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (603799.SS), Sinomine (002738.SZ), Chengxin Lithium Group (002240.SZ), Yahua Group (002497.SZ), and Tsingshan. They are the biggest lithium miners in Zimbabwe. They make concentrates and send them back to China.
According to the MMCZ, these businesses have spent more than $1.4 billion since 2021 to buy and develop the lithium assets.
The southern African country says it will stop exporting lithium crystals in 2027 so that they can be processed more in the country itself.
It is said that Huayou has started building a 50,000-ton per year lithium sulfate plant in Zimbabwe. In 2024, Huayou shipped 400,000 tons of lithium concentrate from the country. At its Bikita mine in Zimbabwe, Sinomine also wants to build a $500 million lithium sulfate plant.
Lithium sulfate is a byproduct that can be improved to make a material that is good for batteries, like lithium hydroxide or lithium carbonate.
