The Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Mine Workers Union (ZDAMWU) has welcomed government’s decision to suspend the export of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates, citing alignment with broader African efforts to promote local beneficiation and protect workers’ rights.
Mines and Mining Development minister Polite Kambamura said the suspension would remain in force until further notice, adding that authorities were working to tighten export controls, encourage domestic value addition and ensure greater accountability in the strategic minerals sector.
The ban aims to maximise national benefit from Zimbabwe’s critical minerals, curb illicit trade and strengthen domestic industrialisation. While supported by unions and civil society, concerns remain about the potential impact on mine workers’ jobs, incomes and working conditions if policies are implemented abruptly.
ZDAMWU general-secretary Justice Chinhema said the policy aligned with the Africa Mining Vision (AMV)’s call for transparent, socially responsible mineral governance. He stressed the need for human rights due diligence throughout the minerals value chain and urged a more inclusive, consultative approach to policy implementation.
“At the same time, we underline that all policy and investment decisions in the critical mineral value chain must be guided by robust human rights due diligence standards, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, so that companies and State entities identify, prevent, mitigate and account for actual and potential adverse impacts on workers and communities at every stage of extraction, processing, transport and trade."
“ZDAMWU stands ready to work with the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, employers [Chamber of Mines] and other stakeholders to ensure that Zimbabwe’s new export framework for critical minerals delivers both increased national value and genuine respect for human rights and decent work, in the true spirit of the Africa Mining Vision,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO) also welcomed the ban, saying it addresses vulnerabilities in the lithium value chain, reduces mineral leakages and encourages market diversification beyond China.
“This announcement by the minister validates observations in the 2025 ZELO mine to market situational report for critical minerals, which highlighted a porous lithium value chain that is prone to illicit trade and revenue leakages,” the organisation said.
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ZELO highlighted challenges such as weak border oversight and limited technical capacity for verifying mineral content, which the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe has begun to address by stationing officers at border posts.
The government’s move, under the Base Minerals Export Control (Unbeneficiated Base Mineral Ores) (Amendment) Order, 2023 (Statutory Instrument 57 of 2023), signals a commitment to ensuring that strategic mineral extraction contributes meaningfully to domestic industrialisation and inclusive economic growth.
