BEIJING – Zimbabwe reportedly recorded an approximate loss of US$400 million in export revenue due to undeclared caesium and tantalum by mining players in the lithium industry.
The loss of this revenue occured as a result of the unscrupulous exporting mechanism by mining investors of lithium who deliberately hid the gems in lithium concentrates.
Engineer Mudono, a lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology, disclosed the loss recently which may explain the recent government directive to ban raw materials exports.
In February, Zimbabwe’s minister of Mines and Mining Development, Polite Kambamura announced the suspension of raw minerals and lithium exports as the country seeks to promote value addition.
The move received mixed reviews mainly from investors who were benefitting from the extraction of these natural resources without bringing any meaning benefits to the Southern African nation.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has also been on record lately insisting “Zimbabwe is open for business but not for extraction”.
