As nations seek to cut their carbon footprints, demand has surged for clean energy, fueling global competition, China has been laser-focused on the task of securing critical minerals for climate-friendly power sources like batteries. Lithium known as “white gold” is an essential raw material for the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles and in solar panels that store solar energy. Several Chinese companies recently making multimillion dollar acquisitions to secure lithium supplies in Zimbabwe has improved the South African country’s economic fortunes. Zimbabwe banned exports of raw lithium ore, forcing companies to set up local factories to process ore into concentrates before export. The investments by Chinese companies could boost capacity to 192,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) per year of petalite and spodumene in 2027, from 13,000 tons LCE per year in 2022. Is Zimbabwe’s stand against export of Raw materials the way to go against exploitation ?
