The president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF), Henrietta Rushwaya, has made an appeal to the government regarding the recent unexpected Statutory Instrument (SI) 5 of 2023.
Rushwaya specifically highlighted the Base Minerals Export Control (Unbeneficiated Base Mineral Ores) ban on the export of raw lithium ore, which has resulted in the halt of miners’ businesses.
According to Rushwaya, the sudden ban has caused a loss of standing off-take agreements between miners and international buyers, some of whom had taken loans from their respective countries to finance trade in these minerals. Some miners now have significant stockpiles, leading to a lock of cash flows and operational disruption.
Rushwaya’s statement continues by indicating that the temporary moratorium would boost foreign currency earnings, enhance market liquidity, and expand the government’s revenue base through royalty fee payments and associated taxes.
However, establishing processing plants may take between six and twelve months to commission. The current market for lithium is outside Zimbabwe, and companies need to export the mineral to raise capital to build processing plants.
The ban on trading raw lithium ore has negatively impacted the livelihoods of small-scale miners involved in mining base minerals.
Farai Maguwu, the Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, commented on the Lithium ban in areas such as Mberengwa, Goromonzi, and UMP. Maguwu suggested that the government should have supported villagers by regulating their activities and even considered buying the lithium ore from the villagers to build its own lithium ore stockpiles.
Maguwu added that after chasing away villagers who had gathered lithium, the untouchables are now harvesting the blood and sweat of the poor.
Maguwu emphasized that this situation only happens in the jungle, where an animal toils to bring down its prey, only to be chased by a more powerful predator.
