Zimbabwe has shipped the continent's inaugural consignment of locally processed lithium sulphate, a milestone that comes just two months after the government suspended exports of raw forms of the mineral.
The shipment was produced at Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, run by the Chinese firm Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, and has been hailed as a significant development for Africa's lithium industry.
"This inaugural shipment represents the first lithium salt ever produced in Zimbabwe and across Africa, marking a major step forward in regional mineral beneficiation and industrialisation," stated Huayou's Zimbabwe unit in a recent announcement on social media platform X.
The company did not disclose the specific size of the shipment.
Zimbabwe, Africa's top lithium producer, has been pressing miners operating in the country to process more of the battery metal locally as it seeks to extract more economic benefit from the mineral.
It has recently imposed a 10% tax on lithium concentrate exports. The export tax does not apply to lithium sulphate.
The southern African country will ban lithium concentrate exports altogether from January 2027, but froze all exports of the concentrated mineral on February 25, saying it had noted "malpractices during the exportation of minerals".
Zimbabwe introduced lithium concentrate export quotas in April and set conditions for the resumption of exports, including the mandatory publication of mines' annual financial statements as well as labour, safety and environmental standards.
In 2025, Zimbabwe exported 1.13 million metric tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China, accounting for about 15% of its lithium concentrate imports for the year.
