Speaking
at
a
recent
event
on
the
raw
minerals
ban,
the
Second
Secretary
at
the
Chinese
Embassy,
Liu
Yang,
pointed
an
accusing
finger
at
small,
unregistered
operators
who,
he
says,
are
using
legitimate
companies’
documents
to
smuggle
lithium
across
borders.
“Legitimate
enterprises
do
not
need
to
engage
in
smuggling.
Instead,
small,
unqualified
enterprises
exploit
the
documents
of
legitimate
companies
to
conduct
smuggling,”
Liu
said,
as
he
sought
to
clear
the
names
of
major
Chinese
investors
who
dominate
the
country’s
lithium
sector.
“We
Have
Too
Much
to
Lose”
Liu
revealed
that
during
investigations,
large
Chinese
lithium
firms
made
it
clear
they
have
no
interest
in
illegal
exports,
they
are
too
busy
protecting
their
multi-million
dollar
investments.
He
said:
“The
large
enterprises
said
that
they
have
proper
export
documents,
no
motive
to
smuggle,
and
cannot
afford
the
penalties
of
being
caught
smuggling;
they
are
more
focused
on
the
security
of
the
investments
they
have
already
made.”
It’s
a
powerful
argument.
Since
2021,
Chinese
companies
have
poured
over
US$2
billion
into
Zimbabwe’s
lithium
sector
in
the
past
3
years.
The
last
thing
they
want,
Liu
suggested,
is
to
risk
it
all
on
smuggled
concentrates.
But
the
embassy
official
also
dropped
a
bombshell:
the
government
has
had
opportunities
all
along
to
stop
the
leakages
but
failed
to
act.
He
said:
“At
various
stages,
the
government
has
multiple
opportunities
to
intervene
and
crack
down
on
such
activities.”
He
added
that
formal
lithium
mining
enterprises
are
ready
and
willing
to
work
with
authorities
to
combat
smuggling,
if
only
the
government
would
step
up.
The
Ban
That
Shook
the
World
The
comments
come
barely
five
weeks
after
Zimbabwe
dropped
a
bombshell
on
the
global
lithium
market,
suspending
all
raw
mineral
and
lithium
concentrate
exports
with
immediate
effect
on
25
February
2026.
Mines
Minister
Polite
Kambamura
cited
“widespread
leakages,
licence
abuse,
and
failure
to
declare
valuable
by-minerals”
as
the
trigger.
Ministry
of
Mines
Permanent
Secretary
Pfungwa
Kunaka
later
told
Parliament
that
studies
had
confirmed
Zimbabwe
was
losing
rare
earths,
tantalum,
and
niobium,
valuable
minerals
hidden
in
lithium
ore,
that
were
being
shipped
out
without
a
cent
paid
to
the
treasury.
Who
Is
Really
to
Blame?
The
finger-pointing
has
begun
in
earnest.
Chinese
investors
say
they
are
being
unfairly
tarred.
The
government
says
the
leakages
were
out
of
control.
Small-scale
operators,
the
ones
Liu
says
are
using
legitimate
papers
to
smuggle,
remain
in
the
shadows.
What
is
clear
is
that
Zimbabwe’s
lithium
wealth
has
been
bleeding
out
through
a
system
where
export
permits
meant
for
a
few
were
being
used
dozens
of
times
over,
where
high-grade
material
was
declared
as
waste,
and
where
the
country
was
getting
just
7
per
cent
of
the
value
of
its
own
resources.
Now,
with
the
ban
in
place
and
Chinese
firms
promising
cooperation,
the
question
is
whether
the
government
can
finally
close
the
loopholes—and
whether
the
“small,
unqualified”
smugglers
Liu
describes
can
finally
be
brought
to
heel.