Zimbabwe welcomes more investment in mineral processing and refining as the country shifts from exporting raw minerals to domestic value addition, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said Wednesday.

Chiwenga made the remarks in a keynote address at the 2026 International Business Conference, held during the ongoing Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo, the country's second-largest city.

The Zimbabwean Cabinet approved a ban on raw minerals and lithium concentrates exports recently to boost local value addition and beneficiation. "The era of exporting raw resources without meaningful domestic benefit must give way to a new phase of in-country value addition, industrialization and manufacturing," Chiwenga said.

He noted that Zimbabwe's mining sector is gaining momentum, driven by surging global demand for strategic minerals such as lithium and chrome. To support this, the government is strengthening collaboration between industry and research institutions to ensure innovation and skills development align with national production.

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To scale up productivity, Chiwenga said Zimbabwe is accelerating investment in energy generation, transmission infrastructure, and renewable energy, which has already driven the rollout of decentralized systems like mini-grids.

"We are inviting the private sector to partner with government in expanding the national energy base," he said, citing significant opportunities in independent power production and clean energy industries.

Chiwenga also called for increased local capacity in steel manufacturing to mitigate evolving geopolitical risks. The mining sector remains a primary pillar of Zimbabwe's economy and a major driver of exports, with vast reserves of platinum group metals, lithium, chrome, and iron ore.