By Archford Chirimudombo
Harare, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe recorded a sharp increase in mineral export earnings during the first half of 2026, with the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) facilitating exports worth US$2.532 billion, representing an 84 percent rise from the US$1.376 billion achieved during the corresponding period last year.
The strong performance has been attributed to sustained international demand for minerals, improved commodity prices, and the continued implementation of the country’s mineral beneficiation and value addition strategy, according to MMCZ.
“The US$2.532 billion recorded demonstrates the impact of the beneficiation and value addition policy. Based on the market trends and performance of our key mineral commodities, we are confident of surpassing our projected annual revenue this year,” Moyo said in a statement on the Corporation’s H1 performance.
Platinum group metals (PGM) matte remained the corporation’s leading export product, accounting for 33.93 percent of total export earnings. It was followed by spodumene concentrates at 26.57 percent and PGM concentrates at 13.73 percent.
Combined, the three mineral products generated more than 74 percent of total export revenue, underlining Zimbabwe’s growing importance as a supplier of platinum group metals and critical minerals that are essential for the global energy transition.
MMCZ also identified lithium sulphate as an emerging value-added export, noting that the product undergoes substantial local processing before shipment, enabling the country to capture greater value within the battery minerals supply chain.
“The corporation views this development as an important step towards establishing Zimbabwe as a regional hub for battery mineral processing,” said Moyo.
The corporation said continued expansion in electric vehicle manufacturing and energy storage technologies was sustaining global demand for lithium, creating favourable long-term prospects for Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
Moyo pointed out the results demonstrated Zimbabwe’s mineral sector was progressively transitioning from exporting raw minerals towards higher-value processed mineral commodities.
“The results confirm that success in the mineral sector is no longer measured simply by export volumes, but by the value realised from every tonne exported. We are increasingly exporting products such as ferrochrome, steel, polished granite slabs, and lithium sulphate, which command significantly higher values than unprocessed minerals. This aligns with the Government’s Vision 2030 objective of accelerating beneficiation, industrialisation and sustainable economic growth,” she said.
In addition to facilitating exports, MMCZ said it was strengthening mineral accountability and protecting national revenue through improved contract monitoring, price verification, mineral valuation and inspection systems.
“MMCZ is investing in digitalization and laboratory capacity to improve transparency, traceability and mineral accounting across the export value chain. These investments are expected to further safeguard national mineral revenue while improving the efficiency and integrity of Zimbabwe’s minerals marketing system,” Moyo said.
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