Zimbabwe's lithium industry is expected to generate about $1bn in turnover this year as producers begin exporting lithium sulphate, with annual revenue projected to rise further as planned processing plants come on stream, Mining Zimbabwe reported on August 6.

The projections were outlined by Lithium Producers Association of Zimbabwe chairman Innocent Rukweza during the Beneficiation Symposium held alongside the Mine Entra 2026 exhibition in Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe, Africa's leading lithium producer, has progressively tightened restrictions on exports of unprocessed lithium as the government pushes miners towards greater domestic beneficiation and the conversion of concentrates into higher-value products such as lithium sulphate.

“In 2022, when we were just exporting ores, we were looking at a turnover of over $60mn,” Rukweza said.

“The moment the ban came in and we were dealing with concentrates; we've been averaging about $580mn between 2023 and 2025. This year, with the first parcel from Arcadia of lithium sulphate, we're expecting turnover to reach about $1bn.”

Rukweza has previously projected that annual lithium industry turnover could reach $3.2bn by 2030 as additional lithium sulphate plants enter production.

The forecast follows Zimbabwe's first commercial export of lithium sulphate from the Arcadia Lithium Mine, marking the country's entry into a higher-value segment of the battery minerals supply chain. Lithium sulphate is an intermediate product used in the manufacture of battery chemicals including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide.

Arcadia is operated by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, which is owned by China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (SSE:603799).

Zimbabwe's other major lithium operations include Sinomine Resource Group's (SZSE:002738) Bikita Minerals, Chengxin Lithium Group's (SZSE:002240) Sabi Star mine, Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group's (SZSE:002497) Kamativi project, the state-owned Sandawana mine and Tsingshan-backed Gwanda Lithium Mine.

Several producers are developing or studying lithium sulphate plants as the government pushes the industry further downstream, while Huayou's Arcadia operation is currently the only one producing and exporting lithium sulphate commercially.

Rukweza said about $3.4bn had been committed to completed and planned lithium projects, including concentrators and lithium sulphate plants.

He also said planned industry processing capacity was expected to reach about 385,000 tonnes a year by 2028 as additional beneficiation facilities are commissioned.

Zimbabwe has sought to capture more value from its lithium resources by restricting exports of raw ore and tightening controls on concentrate exports while encouraging producers to invest in domestic processing.

Rukweza urged the government to review the industry's tax regime and introduce fiscal incentives to ensure Zimbabwe remained competitive as producers committed capital to more advanced processing facilities.