Zimbabwe's ban causes lithium prices jump

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 fuelling a market rally, Reuters reported.

The most traded lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange climbed 6.07% to 178,020 yuan (US$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, Africa's largest lithium producer, shipped 1.128 million tons of spodumene concentrate last year, marking an 11% year-on-year increase, with the bulk of exports destined for China.

According to Bloomberg News, citing the US Geological Survey, Zimbabwe accounted for about 10% of the world's mined lithium last year. However, exports of lithium sulphate, an intermediate product, will not be affected by the new policy, CITIC Securities said in a note.

Cameron Hughes, an analyst at consultancy CRU Group, told Bloomberg that higher lithium prices and continued illegal shipments are likely driving factors behind the timing of the export overhaul. He compared Zimbabwe's move to a similar ban imposed by the Democratic Republic of Congo on cobalt exports last year.

Zimbabwe has pledged to clamp down on illicit commodities trading while promoting value addition and downstream mineral processing as part of broader resource nationalism policies, Bloomberg reported.

Several Chinese mining groups, including Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and Sinomine Resource Group, have made substantial investments in Zimbabwe's lithium sector in recent years.

The export ban has heightened concerns over raw material supply security at a time when expectations of strong growth in energy storage systems have underpinned a broader recovery in lithium prices since the second half of 2025.