Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo
Herald Reporter
AGAINST a backdrop of a fragile global economy strained by geopolitical tensions, analysts point to Zimbabwe as a nation with sharply improving growth prospects, powered by its vast and strategic mineral resources.
The country is carving out a vital, though complex, position in the worldwide race for critical minerals essential for the green energy transition and advanced technologies.
Zimbabwe’s advantage stems from its extraordinary geological endowment. It is Africa’s largest lithium producer and holds the sixth-largest lithium reserves on the planet, strategically positioning itself to supply up to 20 percent of global demand for the battery metal.
Beyond lithium, the nation possesses the world’s second-largest reserves of platinum group metals (PGMs), hosts 17 distinct types of rare earth elements, and remains a key global source of chrome, nickel and iron.
Recognising this potential, President Mnangagwa’s administration has moved to capture greater value from its natural wealth.
To catalyse domestic industrial development and job creation, the Government has enacted bans on the export of raw lithium and other base mineral ores.
This policy of enforced beneficiation is designed to compel investment in local processing plants, refining and manufacturing, thereby transforming raw exports into higher-value finished or semi-finished products.
This strategic pivot from simple extraction to value addition is central to Zimbabwe’s economic blueprint.
By leveraging its critical minerals during a period of high global demand and supply chain reassessments, Zimbabwe seeks to translate its underground wealth into sustained above-ground economic growth, technological development and increased fiscal stability.
Economic analyst Mr Persistence Gwanyanya told The Herald that as countries like the United States, which recently announced a US$12 billion critical mineral reserve, and blocs such as the European union (EU) strive to secure their supply chains, Zimbabwe is emerging as a crucial supplier of these minerals.
“As the US weaponises sanctions and tariffs, it’s difficult for it to continue to overly rely on China for rare earth and other minerals. This will see the US looking elsewhere, especially in Africa for these minerals, which are important for their automobile industry, tech firms and other manufacturers.
“The recent news that President Trump is setting up a seed capital of US$12 billion to stockpile strategic critical minerals, in the wake of pressure to reduce reliance on China, is revealing,” he said.
Mr Gwanyanya said the overall outlook for Zimbabwe is one of cautious optimism, characterised by a mining-led economic resurgence.
“Zimbabwe is richly endowed with substantial critical minerals. The country boasts more than 60 well sought-after minerals, including platinum group of minerals (PGMs), gold, lithium, chrome and rare earth minerals, among others.
“Whilst the era of resource-based economies might have passed its sell-by date, the geopolitical factors, and dim prospects for the US dollar have renewed interest in especially precious and rare earth minerals as the global economy tries to reduce exposure to the US dollar,” he said.
The weaponisation of sanctions and tariffs by the Trump administration, said Mr Gwanyanya, had led to growing concern about the US dollar both as a reserve and transactional currency.
This, he said, has seen a growing push to develop an alternative to the US dollar.
“This saw increased demand for precious minerals, mainly gold and silver, and as a bullion-based economy, Zimbabwe has significantly benefited from the gold rally. Also, the depressed global economy has seen increased demand for rare earth minerals, which we are richly endowed with. This largely explains why the country’s prospects are improving at a time when the global economy is struggling to recover,” said Mr Gwanyanya.
Political analyst Mr Kudzai Mutisi said the latest geopolitical tensions have seen the US and EU actively seeking to diversify their supply chains, giving Zimbabwe a strategic advantage.
“We are now facing a scramble for critical minerals from the West and the East. Since minerals are finite resources and are only available in certain regions of the world, countries like Zimbabwe have a strategic advantage. As the scramble heats up, the demand for these minerals will rise and so will their prices,” he said.
Mr Mutisi emphasised the importance of the country stockpiling its mineral resources, noting that Zimbabwe cannot sell all of its minerals to foreign nations.
“Zimbabwe should also ensure that it secures a significant shareholding in the companies mining these critical minerals,” he said.
The political analyst forecasted that due to recent geopolitical events, investors from around the globe will seek to tap into the country’s abundant mineral resources in the short to medium term.
“The United States ended the Zimbabwe sanctions programme mainly because it was preventing US companies from investing in Zimbabwe’s mining industry. It’s up to Zimbabweans to fully utilise their strategic advantage and benefit from it,” he said.
Harare-based political commentator Mr Dereck Goto weighed in, saying Zimbabwe is well-positioned in the global race for critical minerals.
He said as the US, EU and other blocs compete to secure lithium, rare earths, PGMs and related inputs, Zimbabwe stands out as a source country with real strategic leverage.
“The country’s significance lies not just in abundance, but in how it is positioning itself. The policy shift away from raw exports toward beneficiation, local processing and industrial development is intended to retain value, build skills and strengthen fiscal returns rather than exporting wealth in unprocessed form,” he said.
Overall, Mr Goto said, with policy consistency, improved infrastructure and better governance, Zimbabwe can evolve from being merely resource-rich to becoming a strategically important supplier in global value chains.
He added that the country’s efforts to establish diversified partnerships as part of its engagement and re-engagement strategy are driven by national interests and allow resource-rich nations to secure more favourable terms.
“Geopolitically, Zimbabwe is pursuing diversified partnerships —– with the West, China and the Global South — guided by national interest rather than ideology.
“In a multipolar world, this approach allows resource-rich states to negotiate better terms, including technology transfer and infrastructure development,” said Mr Goto.
