Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe mined 9.7% (USGS) of the world's lithium in 2025 (estimated).
9.7%
of the world's lithium mining in 2025 (estimated), according to USGS · about 1 in 10
#4 in lithium miningANNUAL 2025
Materials with a production share
1
with a mining or refining share on record
Exports of the ten materials
$993M
2024; most of it nickel; 9 partner countries
Grid emissions intensity
384gCO2e/kWh
2024
Imports of the ten materials
$5.2M
2024; most of it copper; 6 partner countries
Overview
What it produces
Share of world output, per material and stage. Each bar is one source's figure; where two sources report the same stage, both are shown and never blended. A full-width bar would be 100%.
Lithium· Mine
- 9.7%about 1 in 10#4 in lithium miningUSGS, 2025 (estimated) · 28 000 t
Rank 4 of the 9 countries with a figure in this USGS table.
- 9.2%about 1 in 10#4 in lithium miningIEA, 2025 · 28 kt Li
Rank 4 of the 6 countries with a figure in this IEA table.
Key facts
- Country code
- ZWE
- GDP
- $51bn (2025)
- Mineral rents, share of GDP
- 4.2% (2021)
- Ores and metals, share of goods exports
- 34% (2024)
- Mining area, all commodities
- 243 km² (2019; rank 40 of 144)
Map
- Zimbabwe
Sites are those in the open sources. A site missing here is missing from the sources, not from the world.
Country in context
Lithium: Mine production, 2025 (estimated). All rows come from the same table.
| Country | metric tons | Share of world | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZimbabweThis country | 28 000 | 9.7 % | |
| AustraliaLargest producer in the table | 92 000 | 31.7 % | |
| World totalWorld total as the source gives it | 290 000 | – |
Supply chain
Every figure the sources give for this country, its trade partners per material, and where its sites are.
Production, refining and reserves
The latest year of each series. Share is of the series total: the larger of the source world total and the sum of its rows. Rank counts only the countries that have a number in that series.
| Series | Amount | Share of world | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lithium: Mine production2025 (estimated) · USGS MCS 2026 · rank 4 of 9 | 28 000 t | 9.7 % | ||
| Lithium: Raw materials (IEA)2025 · IEA GCMO 2026 · rank 4 of 6 | 28 kt Li | 9.2 % | ||
| Lithium: Reserves2025 · USGS MCS 2026 · rank 8 of 10 | 500 000 t | 1.4 % |
Mines and plants listed without coordinates · 20
The USGS Minerals Yearbook names these operations in Zimbabwe with company, place and annual capacity, but gives no coordinates, so they are not on the map. Capacity is not production. Each row is from the chapter year shown.
| Material and product | Kind | Company, as listed | Place, as listed | Annual capacity | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CobaltCobalt > Ore, Co content | Mine | Bindura Nickel Corp. Ltd. (ASA Resource Group PLC, 74.73%, and common shares, 25.27%) | Trojan Mine at Bindura and Shangani Mine,1 about 100 kilometers northeast of Bulawayo | 800 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CobaltCobalt > Ore, Co content | Mine | Mimosa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. (Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., 50%, and Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd., 50%) | Mimosa Mine, 150 kilometers east of Bulawayo | 88 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CobaltCobalt > Ore, Co content | Mine | Unki Mines (Private) Ltd. (Anglo American Platinum Ltd.) | Unki Mine, southeast of Shurugwi | not given | 2019 | |
| CobaltCobalt > Ore, Co content | Mine | Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Private) Ltd. (Zimplats Holdings Ltd., 87%) | Ngezi mines, which includes the Ngwarati Mine (also known as Portal 1), the Rukodzi Mine (Portal 2), the Mupfuti Mine (Portal 3),2 and the Bimha Mine (Portal 4), 150 kilometers southwest of Harare | not given | 2019 | |
| CobaltCobalt > Hydroxide | Plant | BSR Ltd. (Bindura Nickel Corp. Ltd., 100%) | Bindura smelter and refinery, Bindura1 | 700 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CobaltCobalt > Hydroxide | Plant | RioZim Ltd. | Empress Nickel Refinery, Eiffel Flats, near Kadoma1 | not given | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper > Ore, Cu content | Mine | Bindura Nickel Corp. Ltd. (BNC) (ASA Resource Group PLC, 74.73%, and common shares, 25.27%) | Trojan Mine at Bindura and Shangani Mine,1 about 100 kilometers northeast of Bulawayo | not given | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper > Ore, Cu content | Mine | Mimosa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. (Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., 50%, and Sibanye-Stillwater, 50%) | Mimosa Mine, 150 kilometers east of Bulawayo | 3 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper > Ore, Cu content | Mine | Unki Mines (Private) Ltd. (Anglo American Platinum Ltd.) | Unki Mine, 60 kilometers southeast of Gweru | 1 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper > Ore, Cu content | Mine | Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Private) Ltd. (Zimplats Holdings Ltd., 87%) | Ngezi mines, which includes the Ngwarati Mine (also known as Portal 1), the Rukodzi Mine (Portal 2), the Mupfuti Mine (Portal 3),2 and the Bimha Mine (Portal 4), 150 kilometers southwest of Harare | 3 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| CopperCopper > Refined | Plant | RioZim Ltd. | Empress Nickel Refinery, Eiffel Flats, near Kadoma1 | 6 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| GraphiteGraphite | Not specified | Zimbabwe German Graphite Mines (Private) Ltd. (Graphite Kropmühl division of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V., 50%, and Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp., 50%) | Lynx Graphite Mine, Karoi | not given | 2019 | |
| LithiumLithium | Not specified | Bikita Minerals (Private) Ltd. | Bikita Mine, 60 kilometers east of Masvingo | 80 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Ore | Mine | Bindura Nickel Corp. Ltd. (BNC) (ASA Resource Group PLC, 74.73%, and common shares, 25.27%) | Trojan Mine at Bindura and Shangani Mine,1 about 100 kilometers northeast of Bulawayo | 500 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Ore, Ni content | Mine | Mimosa Holdings (Pty) Ltd. (Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., 50%, and Sibanye-Stillwater Ltd., 50%) | Mimosa Mine, 150 kilometers east of Bulawayo | 3 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Ore, Ni content | Mine | Unki Mines (Private) Ltd. (Anglo American Platinum Ltd.) | Unki Mine, 60 kilometers southeast of Gweru | 1 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Ore, Ni content | Mine | Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Private) Ltd. (Zimplats Holdings Ltd., 87%) | Ngezi mines, which includes the Ngwarati Mine (also known as Portal 1), the Rukodzi Mine (Portal 2), the Mupfuti Mine (Portal 3),2 and the Bimha Mine (Portal 4), 150 kilometers southwest of Harare | 4 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Refined metal | Plant | BSR Ltd. (Bindura Nickel Corp. Ltd., 100%) | Bindura Smelter and Refinery, Bindura1 | 15 600 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| NickelNickel > Refined metal | Plant | RioZim Ltd. | Empress Nickel Refinery, Eiffel Flats, near Kadoma1 | 9 000 metric tons per year | 2019 | |
| TungstenTungsten (WO3 content) | Not specified | RHA Tungsten Ltd. (National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund, 51% and Premier African Minerals, Ltd., 49%) | RHA Tungsten Mine,1 270 kilometers northwest of Bulawayo | 480 000 metric tons per year | 2019 |
Trade partners
1 recorded flow, 2024
- Recorded trade flow; a thicker line is a larger value
- Zimbabwe
Lines join the middle of each country. They are not shipping routes.
| Partner | Material | Year | Value, US$ | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Export toSouth Africa | NickelProcess | 2024 | $985M |
Reconciled customs data (CEPII BACI), by value. The data holds only the largest flows of each material, so this is not the country’s full trade.
0 sites, deposits and projects on record are listed with the map in the Overview →
Money
What the trade data and the World Bank record in money terms. Every value is a reported figure with its own year.
All recorded trade flows of 2024 under the customs codes that isolate one of the ten materials, by value (CEPII BACI, reconciled estimates, current US dollars). Codes that mix several materials are left out, so trade in those materials is understated; gallium and germanium have no usable code at all. Each material lists its five largest partners. Why trade data blurs some materials
Exports of the ten materials
$993Min 2024, with 9 partner countries
Nickel$988M
South Africa $985M · China $1.7M · Hong Kong $1.5M · Switzerland $477,495 · Spain $23,322 · 1 more
Tungsten$1.9M
China $1.9M
Copper$1.8M
China $1.3M · Mozambique $477,013 · India $66,243
Antimony$378,549
China $317,278 · Mozambique $61,271
Graphite$653
China $651 · Netherlands $2
Lithium$90
India $75 · South Africa $15
South Africa $5
Imports of the ten materials
$5.2Min 2024, with 6 partner countries
Copper$4.7M
Zambia $4.7M · China $533 · South Africa $205
Antimony$399,837
South Africa $399,830 · China $7
Graphite$27,360
China $25,901 · South Africa $1,379 · Hong Kong $75 · Tanzania $5
Tungsten$20,217
China $15,979 · South Africa $4,238
Lithium$16,124
China $16,124
Nickel$15,267
South Africa $15,267
Rare earths$12,390
South Africa $12,166 · India $214 · China $10
Cobalt$6
South Africa $6
The economy around mining
World Bank indicators. Each has its own latest year, shown next to the value; mineral rents are often several years old.
GDP (current US$)
$51bn
Year 2025
Mineral rents (% of GDP)
4.2%
Year 2021
Ores and metals exports (% of merchandise exports)
34%
Year 2024
Government revenue from extractives
No data yet. Zimbabwe has no EITI summary record with a government total. Countries report only if they implement the EITI Standard; a missing record does not mean there is no such revenue.
Investment pipeline
announced figuresPlanned and under-construction projects in Zimbabwe with a publicly announced capital cost, public financial backing, or both. Each line is one statement by the named publisher on the given date; the atlas adds nothing to it.
No data yet. The atlas has read no announcement of this kind for a project in Zimbabwe. The list is short and hand-read; a missing project is missing from the list, not from the world.
A short, hand-read list, not a census: 19 projects in all. Announced amounts are not spending, a letter of interest or a conditional commitment is not a loan, and amounts stay in the currency of the announcement.
Public support instruments
Stockpiles, price floors, offtake and purchasing programmes and public funds of Zimbabwe's government, as dated policy events of the type "public support". Each is one statement by its publisher.
No data yet. The atlas has read no public support instrument of Zimbabwe's government. The list is short and hand-read.
Mining companies headquartered here · 2
Companies that Wikidata places in the mining industry with headquarters in Zimbabwe, for every commodity, not only the ten materials. Wikidata is edited by volunteers: entries may be missing or out of date, and each name links to its item. A listing names an exchange and a ticker; it is not a price.
| Company | Headquarters | Stock listing | LEI | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hwange Colliery | Hwange | — | — | |
| Wankie Colliery | Harare | — | — |
These figures are informational, not financial advice.
Sustainability
Four indicators, the same on every profile. Each is a figure with its unit, year and source, or a plain statement that there is none.
Carbon
Emissions intensity of the country's electricity grid.
384gCO2e/kWh
Higher than 41% of the other 208 countries with a grid figure.
- It describes the national grid, not mining or refining. Sites may run on their own power.
Water
Share of the country's mine sites on record that lie in high or extremely high baseline water stress.
No mine or brine site with a water-stress class is on record in this country.
- Counted by site, not by tonnage: it is not a share of production.
- "Arid and Low Water Use" is a class of its own in the source and is not counted as high.
Land
Land visibly used by mining in the country, every commodity together.
243km²
Higher than 73% of the other 143 countries with a mapped mining area.
- Rank 40 of 144 countries by area.
- Mapped from satellite images for all mining in a country. It cannot be attributed to one material or one site.
Circularity
Recycling's share of demand.
Not available per country: recycling rates in the atlas are published per material, for the EU as a whole.
There is no overall score: the four figures measure different things and are not added up. How to read these figures
Risks & policy
Export controls in force
Compiled by USGS, effective January 2026. Not a live feed.
Export ban: Lithium ore (2022).
Source ↗
Chokepoints at sea
The atlas has no record of which minerals pass through which sea passage, so no chokepoint figure is attached to this profile. Current ship counts for the main passages are on the Live page. Open the Live page
Gaps
What the atlas is missing for Zimbabwe
Computed from the data. Each line names a record that exists and one that does not. It marks missing data, not missing industry.
- Listed as a lithium producer (9.7% of world output; Mine production, 2025), but no mine is on record.
- A lithium producer (9.7% of world output; Mine production, 2025), but no site record names an owner or operator.
- Trade is partial by design: the atlas holds only each material's largest flows. 1 of them name this country.
Sources
Every source this profile uses, with its licence, the years its figures describe and how sure the figures are. Each chip on the profile opens the single record.
- USGS Minerals Yearbook, Vol. III ↗20 records used
- Licence
- Public domain (U.S. Government work)
- As of
- 2019
- Confidence
- Reported
- USGS MCS 2026 ↗17 records used
- Licence
- CC0-1.0
- As of
- 2025–2026
- Confidence
- Reported · Estimated
- CEPII BACI 202601 ↗3 records used
- Licence
- Etalab Open Licence 2.0
- As of
- 2024
- Confidence
- Estimated
- World Bank WDI ↗3 records used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2021–2025
- Confidence
- Reported
- Ember Yearly Electricity Data ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2024
- Confidence
- Reported
- IEA GCMO 2026 ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-4.0
- As of
- 2025
- Confidence
- Reported
- Maus et al. 2022 (mining areas v2) ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC-BY-SA-4.0
- As of
- 2019
- Confidence
- Estimated
- Wikidata ↗1 record used
- Licence
- CC0-1.0
- As of
- 2026
- Confidence
- Inferred, needs review
The mining-area figure comes from a share-alike source (CC-BY-SA-4.0). It is kept in its own file under that licence, apart from the rest of the atlas's data.
History & talk
Revision history and discussion are coming soon.
Every change to a figure will be listed here with its source, its credit and its review, and each profile will have a place to discuss it. Until then the data changes only when a source is updated, and every figure links to that source.
What we don't know yet
No open source we may use gives these figures. Nothing is estimated to fill them. If you know a public source, add it.
- Sites on record: No mine or plant on record here.Add data: Sites on record: No mine or plant on record here.
- Import dependence: no open per-country series is loaded yet.Add data: Import dependence: no open per-country series is loaded yet.
- Recycling rates: Eurostat publishes them for the EU as a whole, not for one country.Add data: Recycling rates: Eurostat publishes them for the EU as a whole, not for one country.