Zimbabwe should invest in the exploration of minerals which are critical in attracting long-term investments for economic development, Mines minister Soda Zhemu said .
Speaking at a School of Mines’ lithium and battery minerals conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing Mine Entra in Bulawayo, Zhemu said Zimbabwe was under-explored in the mining sector.
“Our country can boost its revenue generation by investing in exploration and discovering new battery mineral deposits that can be extracted and sold to global markets,” Zhemu said.
“Successful exploration of our mineral resources leads to long term investments by foreign companies as exemplified by the recent completion of the Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe mine and processing plant.”
He said mineral exploration had led to notable and sustainable benefits such as job creation and also technological transformations.
Zhemu said the government was working on policies to regulate lithium mining and other battery minerals in the country.
“Firstly, a ban of export of raw base minerals ores that include lithium coal and other base minerals was introduced to stop their rampant exportation in raw form.
“The ban and the introduction of the lithium ore policy presented an opportunity to the mining industry to invest in value addition and further beneficiation,” he said.
Lithium is becoming a highly sought-after commodity in the drive to achieve a net-zero global economy.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently revealed that the global economy will have to have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by 2030.
Zimbabwe has the sixth largest lithium reserves in the world while efforts to increase lithium production have resulted in focus being shifted to the country.