Local inclusion and regulatory control key to sustainable mining
Local inclusion and regulatory control key to sustainable mining - The Nordic Africa Institute (Grasian Mkodzongi, March 21, 2025)
Lessons learnt from China's scramble for Zimbabwe's lithium reserves
Zimbabwe’s rich lithium reserves have sparked a foreign investment boom, particularly from China. While the government, eager to attract investments, helps foreign mining companies secure access to ‘the white gold’, artisanal miners are sidelined. A ban on unprocessed lithium exports, intended to boost domestic processing, has instead benefited political elites and marginalised local communities even further. To foster inclusive growth, the government should formalise artisanal mining and strengthen regional cooperation.
Summary
What’s new?
Global demand for critical minerals, essential for green transition, has sparked a lithium rush in Zimbabwe. This has led to significant Chinese investment and conflict over resources. The government has intervened by evicting artisanal miners and banning the export of unprocessed lithium, in an attempt to attract foreign investment and promote the domestic beneficiation industry. However, these interventions have been inconsistent and haphazardly implemented, benefiting political elites while marginalising local miners.
Why is it important?
Zimbabwe’s lithium reserves could boost the country’s economy and support its Vision 2030 goals; but poor governance, foreign resource grabbing and the exclusion of local communities threaten sustainable and inclusive development. The Zimbabwe case highlights broader issues in Africa’s mining sector, where foreign investment often fails to benefit local economic development.
What should be done and by whom?
African governments should integrate local communities into the mining value chain to prevent foreign-dominated resource grabs. They should also learn from policies adopted in other mineral-rich countries, like Indonesia and Chile, where the governments have strengthened control over the mining sector. Last but not least, rather than criminalising artisanal and small-scale miners, governments should incorporate them into formal supply chains, in order to tackle high youth unemployment, provide job opportunities and derive advantage from their entrepreneurship and ingenuity.