CHINA’S lithium price surged on Thursday after Zimbabwe suspended all raw mineral exports, stoking fears of supply disruptions at a time when rising energy storage demand has already been driving a rally in the market, said Reuters.
The most traded lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange climbed 6.07% to 178,020 yuan ($26,043) a ton after earlier spiking more than 9% to 187,700 yuan.
Harare announced on Wednesday an immediate halt to exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates. Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest lithium producer and shipped 1.128 million tons of spodumene concentrate last year, up 11% year on year, with the bulk destined for China.
The African nation accounted for about 10% of the world’s mined lithium last year, said Bloomberg News citing the US Geological Survey. Exports of lithium sulphate, an intermediate product, wouldn’t be affected by the new policy, Citic Securities Co. said in a note.
“The higher lithium price and continuous illegal shipments are likely driving factors for why the overhaul is happening now,” Cameron Hughes, an analyst at consultancy CRU Group told Bloomberg News. He likened Zimbabwe’s move to a similar ban by the Democratic Republic of Congo on cobalt exports last year.
Zimbabwe has committed to cracking down on illicit commodities trading, and introduced measures to encourage downstream processing, said Bloomberg.
Several Chinese mining groups, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine, have made substantial investments in Zimbabwe’s lithium sector in recent years.
The ban has intensified concerns about raw material supply security at a moment when expectations of a boom in energy storage systems have underpinned a broader recovery in lithium prices since the second half of 2025.
