Critical Minerals and Lithium Mining in Zimbabwe

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Key takeaways

Indian minerals firm Lohum exported its first consignment of lithium ore from Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province.
Zimbabwe is a landlocked nation in southern Africa bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Mozambique, with its capital at Harare.
The newly acquired mining blocks hold 30 to 40 million tonnes of ore, representing nearly 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
Zimbabwe bans raw lithium exports to mandate domestic processing, directly boosting India's National Critical Mineral Mission and EV supply chain security.

Indian critical minerals producer Lohum dispatched its first shipment of lithium ore from its newly acquired mining blocks in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South Province.

Zimbabwe is a landlocked republic in southern Africa known for high plateaus, rich mineral wealth, and gaining independence in April 1980.
The capital city of Zimbabwe is Harare, which was previously called Salisbury.
It shares land borders with four neighboring countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, and Mozambique.

The Highveld plateau forms the central spine of the country, sloping down into the Middleveld and lower Lowveld regions.
Most of the land sits on an ancient Precambrian granite basement, where weathering creates rounded rocky hills called kopjes.
A narrow rock formation called The Great Dyke runs across the country, holding large reserves of chromium, nickel, platinum group metals, and asbestos.
Geological faulting formed deep troughs along the Zambezi river in the north and the Save-Limpopo river system in the south, both flowing toward the Indian Ocean.

Zimbabwe holds some of Africa's largest hard-rock lithium deposits within petalite and spodumene pegmatite minerals.
The mining blocks owned by Lohum contain 30 to 40 million tonnes of ore, equal to roughly 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
The country bans raw lithium exports to promote local processing and build domestic industrial capacity.
These mining assets help India secure critical mineral supply chains for electric vehicle batteries and the National Critical Mineral Mission.