At a time when rising demand for energy storage is expected to fuel a market boom, China's lithium price jumped on Thursday after Zimbabwe banned exports of raw minerals, raising concerns about supply interruptions.
After rising more than 9% to 187,700 yuan earlier in the session, the most traded lithium carbonate contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange increased 6.07% to 178,020 yuan ($26,043.45) per metric ton as of 0330 GMT.
Zimbabwe suspended lithium concentrate exports on Wednesday in an effort to encourage indigenous production and reduce illicit shipments. According to Mines Minister Polite Kambamura, the prohibition is in place until further notice. According to a statement from the ministry, enterprises with approved processing capacity and legitimate mining permits will be the only ones granted export authorizations.
According to the US Geological Survey, the African country produced almost 10% of the world's lithium last year. In a note, Citic Securities Co. stated that the new policy will not impact exports of lithium sulphate, an intermediate product.
Zimbabwe Is a Major Lithium Producer
African nation ranked fourth in mine production last year
Source: US Geological Survey
The nation, which is Africa's largest producer of lithium, exported 1.128 million tons of spodumene concentrate in 2025, an 11% increase from the previous year. The majority of these exports were sent to China.
In recent years, China has made large investments in Zimbabwe through mining businesses like Sinomine (002738.SZ) and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (603799.SS).
As lithium prices have been rising since the second half of 2025 due to forecasts of a surge in energy storage systems, the export ban has sparked worries about the stability of the raw material supply.
According to Cameron Hughes, an analyst at the consultancy CRU Group, "the higher lithium price and ongoing illegal shipments are likely driving factors for why the overhaul is happening now." Hughes compared the action to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's ban on cobalt exports last year.
Zimbabwe has taken steps to promote downstream processing and pledged to tighten down on the illegal trafficking of commodities.
According to Jefferies Financial Group Inc., the market should momentarily tighten following the Zimbabwean ruling. The bank stated in a report that "the step-up of concentrate export control is not entirely expected, even though there were indications that Zimbabwe demands strengthened mining regulation and establishment of local supply chain/processing capacities."
Globally, governments are trying to extract more value from their natural resource endowments, which is making supply chains more volatile. After several months, Congo's unexpected cobalt embargo was lifted and a quota system was implemented to restrict exports. In an effort to increase prices, Indonesia has placed restrictions on the supply of coal and nickel.
According to Citic Securities, Zimbabwe supplied about 19% of China's imports of lithium concentrate last year. ,
Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. saw a 5.6% increase in shares, while Tianqi Lithium Corp. of China saw a 7.3% increase in Hong Kong. PLS Group Ltd. and Mineral Resources Ltd. saw increases of up to 7.6% and 6%, respectively, in Australia. Albemarle Corp. gained 10% while Sigma Lithium Corp. closed 30% higher in the US.
