Zimbabwe clarifies prerequisites for lifting the lithium ore export ban; Chinese lithium companies: negotiations are ongoing, leading enterprises are making rapid progress.

Golden Ten Data reported on April 9, citing Zimbabwean local media, that the Zimbabwean government has clarified a package of prerequisites for lifting the lithium ore export ban via a letter from the Minister of Mines. Enterprises must provide a written commitment to build local beneficiation facilities, complete the construction of a lithium sulfate processing plant by January 1, 2027, fully declare mineral resources, and ensure that all export proceeds are repatriated. The government will allocate export quotas to each producer, require enterprises to submit monthly progress reports, and impose a 10% concentrate export tax. On April 9, executives from several local Chinese-funded lithium companies stated that the specific quota scheme has not yet been officially issued and is still under negotiation. However, the negotiations of leading enterprises are progressing rapidly, and the government appears to prefer enterprises whose mines are sufficiently large, possess mining licenses, and have beneficiation plants; traders and small mines are excluded.