Zimbabwe is moving to fundamentally reshape its mining sector, with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga declaring an end to the long-standing practice of exporting raw minerals without local value addition—a shift that signals a more assertive industrial policy as the country seeks to capture greater economic returns from its vast resource base.
Addressing delegates at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair 2026 International Business Conference in Bulawayo on Tuesday, Vice President Chiwenga said the government will now prioritize in-country processing, refining, and manufacturing, framing the mining sector as the cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s industrialisation drive.
“Zimbabwe will no longer export its resources in raw form without deriving maximum value,” he said, marking one of the clearest policy signals yet from authorities on the direction of the country’s extractive industries.
The announcement comes amid a surge in global demand for strategic minerals—particularly lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries—placing resource-rich countries like Zimbabwe at the center of the energy transition. Zimbabwe holds some of Africa’s largest lithium deposits, alongside significant reserves of platinum group metals, gold, and chrome.
For years, however, much of that wealth has been exported in raw or minimally processed form, limiting the country’s ability to generate jobs, develop industrial capacity, and retain foreign currency. By pivoting toward beneficiation, officials say Zimbabwe aims to reverse that dynamic, building domestic industries linked to mining value chains.
The stakes are high. According to government figures cited during the conference, the mining sector accounted for more than 70% of Zimbabwe’s export earnings in 2025 and contributed roughly 14% to gross domestic product, making it the single largest source of foreign currency inflows.
Authorities are now courting investment into a broad range of downstream activities, including mineral processing plants, refining facilities, engineering services, equipment manufacturing, and logistics infrastructure. The objective, Chiwenga said, is to transition Zimbabwe from a resource exporter into a competitive industrial economy anchored on value addition.
The policy direction aligns with broader government frameworks such as the National Development Strategy 2, which places industrialisation, private sector growth, and infrastructure development at the center of economic planning. It also reflects a growing trend across Africa, where governments are increasingly seeking to leverage natural resources for domestic industrial growth rather than relying on commodity exports alone.
The Vice President acknowledged these challenges indirectly, emphasizing the need for policy consistency, investor protection, and improved ease of doing business to attract both domestic and international capital into the sector.
The government’s message to investors was clear: Zimbabwe is open for partnerships that move beyond extraction and into production.
