00:10Zimbabwe is betting that the future of the white mineral lies not in the exporting of raw materials, but in
00:16processing them at home.
00:18The Southern African nation has adopted a hard line on the export of unprocessed minerals as it seeks to capture
00:26more value from a sector critical to the global energy transition.
00:31Zimbabwe is acclaimed for high deposits of critical minerals and for a long time was a renowned source of raw
00:41minerals for other global industries.
00:45Whilst our own became stagnant and antiquated.
00:51We have said, not anymore.
00:55These days, where concernments leave our borders, declared simply as all, all concentrates, meanwhile containing valuable and rare earth minerals
01:11are over.
01:14Zimbabwe banned exports of raw lithium ore in late 2022 and plans to halt exports of lithium concentrates from January
01:222027.
01:23A temporary suspension imposed earlier this year together with the commissioning of the country's first lithium sulphate processing plant at
01:31the Chinese owned Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe mine is already beginning to reshape the sector.
01:37We have seen by mid-year, export of lithium in terms of export receipts has gone up by 230%
01:46to sit at around $782 million by mid-year.
01:53Analysts say the benefits extend beyond export revenues, helping position Zimbabwe as a strategic player in the global green transition
02:01and electric vehicle battery supply chain.
02:04When you are going into industrialization, you are creating white-collar jobs and also specialized jobs.
02:10You need the scientists, you need the engineers, you need also other professionals from the commercial side.
02:19And it's already happening, but also beyond jobs, impacting the communities.
02:24So when you are having value addition and beneficial, it's not happening in towns.
02:27It's happening in the rural areas.
02:29So for example, when you go to Kuromuans where you have a lithium plant, it's no longer the same.
02:34It's actually advancing into a town.
02:36Another Chinese-owned mine, Piquita Minerals, is in the process of constructing the country's second lithium sulfate plant.
02:44Going forward, the thrust will be to ensure that processing capacity is scaled up fast enough to keep pace with
02:52rising production.
02:53Let's look at the bottom of the secondDonald.
02:53In the process of producing a quarter of the second, the third, the third one is the fourth one.
02:54From the beginning of the fourth, the third one is the fourth one is the fourth one is the third
02:54one, and the fifth one is the fourth one is the fourth one.
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