Antony Chawagarira
RUWA—A suspected lithium smuggling syndicate allegedly moved 690 tonnes of ore through Forbes Border Post using forged documents purported to have been issued by Bikita Minerals, exposing a sophisticated operation that reportedly operated from a warehouse in Ruwa.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has arrested MinMin Song, finance director of Orequest (Pvt) Ltd, in connection with the alleged illegal export of more than 720 tonnes of unbeneficiated lithium ore.
Song appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court and was remanded in custody until September 8, 2026.
He joins Shuvai Muza and Charlene Chivandire, who were arrested on August 27 and are already in custody.
According to ZACC, Song allegedly worked with Ning Yaokun and a Chinese national identified only as Andy, both of whom are still at large, to facilitate the fraudulent export of lithium.
The commission alleges that the syndicate established a fully equipped mineral processing and dispatch warehouse at a property in Ruwa in 2025, where lithium ore was stockpiled before the operation became fully active in May of this year.
Chivandire and another suspect, identified as Malvern, allegedly handled ground operations, including the preparation of fraudulent documentation and coordination with transport brokers.
The alleged smuggling operation intensified in July when the syndicate booked 40 shipping containers through Maersk Harare.
ZACC alleges that Song engaged All Way Global (Pvt) Ltd to source heavy-haulage trucks, while Chivandire and Malvern allegedly contracted Mutare-based clearing agent Brian Sakarombe to facilitate customs clearance formalities.
Malvern allegedly supplied Sakarombe with fraudulent export documents purported to have been issued by Bikita Minerals.
Using these documents, 23 trucks—each carrying a 30-tonne container of lithium ore—allegedly passed through Forbes Border Post, resulting in 690 tonnes being moved out of the country.
The operation allegedly continued after Yaokun booked six additional trucks to collect containers and load more lithium ore at the Ruwa warehouse.
Two of the trucks reportedly crossed Forbes Border Post on July 19 and later offloaded their cargo at the Port of Beira in Mozambique on July 22.
However, the alleged operation began to unravel after three other trucks, loaded with lithium ore at the Ruwa site on July 18 and 21, were intercepted while travelling towards Mutare.
The three trucks were carrying a combined 60 tonnes of ore and allegedly possessed the same fraudulent Bikita Minerals documentation. Further investigations led authorities to the Ruwa property, where 300 tonnes of lithium ore were recovered. An additional 60 tonnes were recovered from containers abandoned in Lochinvar, Harare.
The recoveries brought the total quantity intercepted or recovered during the investigations to 420 tonnes, while 690 tonnes had allegedly already passed through Forbes Border Post.
The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has yet to establish the monetary value of the lithium involved in the alleged smuggling operation.
The case highlights the sophisticated methods allegedly employed by the syndicate to circumvent Zimbabwe’s mineral-export controls, including establishing a dedicated processing and dispatch facility and producing documentation intended to give the consignments an appearance of legitimacy.
Zimbabwe has intensified measures to ensure greater value retention from its mineral resources through local beneficiation and restrictions on the export of certain unprocessed minerals and lithium products.
ZACC said investigations are continuing, with Yaokun, Andy, and Malvern still at large.
