HARARE
–
Vice
President
Constantino
Chiwenga
has
warned
against
the
export
of
unprocessed
minerals,
declaring
that
Zimbabwe
risks
being
remembered
with
contempt
by
future
generations
if
it
fails
to
industrialise
rural
communities
and
retain
value
from
its
vast
mineral
wealth.
Speaking
during
a
familiarisation
tour
of
Sandawana
Mine
in
Mberengwa
on
Wednesday,
Chiwenga
backed
the
cabinet’s
decision
to
immediately
ban
the
export
of
raw
lithium
and
concentrates
accelerating
a
prohibition
originally
planned
for
2027.
The
mine
is
owned
by
the
Mutapa
Investment
Fund
under
its
energy
minerals
portfolio.
Chiwenga
said
it
would
be
unforgivable
for
the
current
generation
to
squander
what
he
described
as
Africa’s
largest
lithium
resource
without
creating
wealth
that
outlives
today’s
leadership.
“It
would
be
foolish
to
leave
no
legacy
for
future
generations,”
he
said
as
he
stood
before
a
vast
open
pit.
“They
will
ask
about
those
pits
and
we
will
tell
them
it
was
a
lithium
mine.
“They
will
ask
what
we
benefitted,
and
if
there
is
nothing
to
show,
it
will
be
a
shame
on
us.”
He
warned
that
history
would
judge
leaders
harshly
if
they
allowed
the
country’s
resources
to
be
stripped
without
value
addition.
“If
we
don’t
leave
anything
for
the
future
generations,
they
will
spit
on
our
graves,”
he
said.
“Let
us
leave
a
legacy
that
will
be
respected.”
He
criticised
the
country’s
past
experience
with
raw
lithium
exports,
saying
it
brought
environmental
harm
and
infrastructural
damage
without
tangible
national
returns.
“We
were
exporting
lithium
ore,
our
roads
were
getting
destroyed
by
trucks,
pollution
and
everything
but
we
were
getting
nothing.
When
we
do
mining,
we
should
do
value
addition
for
economic
growth.”
The
vice
president
said
Zimbabwe
must
urgently
shift
from
being
a
supplier
of
raw
materials
to
a
hub
of
mineral
processing
industries,
especially
in
rural
areas
where
the
resources
are
found.
“We
want
rural
industrialisation
and
the
growth
of
our
nation,”
he
said.
“We
want
to
live
to
see
the
day
where
we
will
have
tall
buildings
in
Mberengwa,
modern
infrastructure
where
we
once
had
pastures
and
mines.
We
must
build
cities
here
in
the
rurals.”
His
comments
came
as
Sandawana
Mine
announced
it
is
advancing
plans
for
a
lithium
concentrator
plant
costing
up
to
US$275
million,
expected
to
process
three
million
tonnes
of
ore
annually
with
commissioning
targeted
for
December
2027.
Government
officials
say
the
accelerated
ban
on
raw
lithium
exports
was
triggered
by
widespread
abuse
of
the
window
period
meant
to
allow
companies
to
prepare
for
beneficiation.
On
Tuesday
mines
minister
Polite
Kambamura
announced
that
some
actors
had
instead
rushed
to
mine
and
stockpile
ore
including
illicitly
transporting
it
to
a
neighbouring
country
for
future
export.
Information
secretary
Ndavaningi
Mangwana
called
the
conduct
“nothing
less
than
the
plunder
of
our
national
heritage”
and
“a
direct
undermining
of
our
sovereignty.”
The
cabinet
decision
shuts
the
door
on
the
export
of
unprocessed
lithium
with
immediate
effect.
Chiwenga
told
traditional
leaders
during
the
tour
that
beneficiation
was
“no
longer
optional”
but
the
cornerstone
of
economic
transformation.
“We
are
not
the
first
nor
the
last,”
he
said.
“There
are
generations
who
came
before
us
and
left
these
natural
resources.
We
should
do
the
same
and
leave
wealth
for
the
future
generations.”
Chiwenga
will
also
visit
other
mining
projects
in
Midlands
during
the
next
three
days
on
a
similar
mission.