After claiming that it was losing 1.7 billion euros by exporting lithium as a raw material and not refining it into batteries domestically, Zimbabwe has prohibited all lithium exports.
Lithium is referred to as “white gold” due to its high value as a component of electronic batteries, which are mostly used in automobiles, mobile phones, and computers. Just the previous two years have seen a 1,100% increase in price.
According to the government, Zimbabwe has the most of the mineral in all of Africa and has enough of it to meet a fifth of the world’s needs.
The government contends that rather than letting foreign firms control battery production even while it is on course to become one of the world’s top exporters of lithium, the country should establish its own battery industry.
If it is successful, Zimbabwe’s economy will undergo a fundamental shift.
Like many other mineral-rich African nations, it has long permitted foreign corporations to mine its raw materials without building domestic industries that could process them and provide large numbers of jobs.
The Zimbabwean Ministry of Mines and Mining Development announced that it will crack down on artisanal miners who smuggled lithium across international borders by mining the mineral illegally.
