Zimbabwe is losing millions of dollars through the smuggling of raw lithium, largely to China, despite a government ban on unprocessed mineral exports, legal watchdog Veritas said in a statement on Thursday.
The 2022 ban, extended in 2023 to cover all base minerals, was aimed at forcing miners to process lithium locally to boost earnings. But some miners, mostly Chinese, continue to export undeclared raw lithium by falsifying shipping documents and bribing underpaid customs officials, Veritas said, citing reports by the Global Press Journal and the Africa Policy Research Institute.
“Smuggling remains profitable because of a lack of electronic scanners at border posts and the absence of severe punishment for offenders,” Veritas said.
The watchdog said collusion between miners, transporters, shipping agents and border officials was driving the trade, with most of the lithium ending up in China, which dominates Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
Lithium is in high demand globally for manufacturing batteries used in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. Zimbabwe holds some of the world’s largest reserves.
Veritas urged the government to impose heavier sentences on smugglers, revoke licences of companies caught falsifying export information, modernise border management, improve staff welfare and strictly enforce mining laws.
“More than lip service must be paid to the mantra from above – ‘zero tolerance to corruption’,” it said. “Corruption in all its forms must be stamped out completely.”
Kukurigo/Veritas ©️