By ZiMining Reporter
As Zimbabwe’s mineral export earnings hit a six-month high of US$2.532 billion, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) says the next battle is not just earning more, but accounting for every dollar.
The H1 2026 figure represents an 84% surge from the US$1.376 billion recorded in the same period last year, driven largely by platinum group metals and lithium. But in a statement released Friday, MMCZ General Manager Dr Nomusa Jane Moyo put transparency and traceability at the center of the corporation’s strategy going forward.
The growth was attributed to “growing global demand, favourable commodity prices and the impact of Zimbabwe’s mineral beneficiation and value addition policy”.
PGM matte remained the dominant export, contributing 33.93% of total export value, followed by Spodumene Concentrates at 26.57% and PGM Concentrates at 13.73%.
“Together, these three mineral commodities accounted for more than 74% of export earnings, highlighting Zimbabwe’s strategic position as a global supplier of platinum group metals and critical minerals required for the global energy transition,” the statement said.
A new entrant, lithium sulphate, was also flagged as significant.
“Lithium sulphate is emerging as a new value-added export mineral commodity. It undergoes significant local processing before export, allowing Zimbabwe to retain greater value within the battery minerals value chain,” Dr Moyo said.
“The Corporation views this development as an important step towards establishing Zimbabwe as a regional hub for battery mineral processing.”
Global demand for lithium “continues to be driven by the rapid expansion of electric vehicles and energy storage technologies, positioning the country to benefit from long-term growth opportunities”.
Dr Moyo said the results reflect a deliberate policy shift away from raw mineral exports.
“The results confirm that success in the mineral sector is no longer measured simply by export volumes, but by the value realised from every tonne exported,” she said. “We are increasingly exporting products such as ferrochrome, steel, polished granite slabs and lithium sulphate, which command significantly higher values than unprocessed minerals”.
She linked the performance directly to national economic targets. “This aligns with Government’s Vision 2030 objective of accelerating beneficiation, industrialisation and sustainable economic growth”.
“The US$2.532 billion recorded demonstrates the impact of the beneficiation and value addition policy,” Dr Moyo said. “Based on the market trends and performance of our key mineral commodities, we are confident of surpassing our projected annual revenue this year.”
With billions now moving through the system, MMCZ said it is reinforcing oversight to protect national revenue.
“Beyond facilitating mineral exports, MMCZ is reinforcing mineral accountability and revenue assurance through enhanced contract monitoring, price verification, mineral valuation and inspection systems,” the statement noted.
The centerpiece of that effort is technology.
“MMCZ is investing in digitalisation and laboratory capacity to improve transparency, traceability and mineral accounting across the export value chain,” Dr Moyo said. “These investments are expected to further safeguard national mineral revenues while improving the efficiency and integrity of Zimbabwe’s mineral marketing system”.
Looking ahead, MMCZ expects the current commodities to keep driving growth.
“Looking ahead, MMCZ expects PGMs, lithium products, ferrochrome, steel and coke to remain the principal drivers of export growth during the second half of 2026, supported by continued beneficiation, market diversification and downstream mineral processing”.
