Mining.

Tier-1 geology — gold, PGMs, lithium, chrome, diamonds, nickel, coal. Lithium is the strategic 2020s story.

13%

GDP share

Players

Profitability snapshot

Gold ASIC ~US$1,100–1,400/oz; lithium concentrate 30–40% EBITDA

01 · Top players

Zimplats (Impala)
Caledonia Mining
Bikita Minerals (Sinomine)
Tsingshan / Dinson
RioZim
Bindura Nickel
Hwange Colliery

02 · Advantages

Top-tier reserves
Brownfield infrastructure on Great Dyke
Mining-friendly tax code

03 · Challenges

Power for smelters
Forex retention rules
Illicit gold leakage
EU CBAM on alloys/steel

04 · Opportunities

Lithium sulphate/carbonate refining
ASM formalisation tech
Tailings reprocessing
Mining services + assay labs

Snapshot

~13–14% of GDP, ~75–80% of merchandise exports, 60+ commodities geologically present.
2023 mineral export earnings: ~US$5.4 bn (Chamber of Mines).
Government target: US$12 bn industry by 2025 (likely delayed but trajectory positive due to lithium and gold).

Commodities

Gold

2023 deliveries to Fidelity Gold Refinery: ~30 t; 60–65% from artisanal/small-scale miners (ASM).
Major: Caledonia Mining (Blanket Mine, ~75–80koz/yr; expanding via Bilboes US$220 m project), Padenga's Pickstone-Peerless, Freda Rebecca, RioZim, Kuvimba's Shamva.
Profitability: all-in sustaining cost ~US$1,100–1,400/oz, vs spot 2025 averaging

US$2,000/oz → wide margin.

Platinum-Group Metals (PGMs)

World's 3rd largest PGM reserves on the Great Dyke.
Producers: Zimplats (Impala), Mimosa (Impala/Sibanye JV), Unki (Anglo American Platinum).
2023 output ~15 t platinum; PGM basket prices have softened, squeezing margins.
Zimplats US$1.8 bn expansion (smelter, base-metal refinery) in delivery.

Lithium (the strategic prize)

World's 6th largest reserves; 4th globally for hard-rock spodumene/petalite.
Major projects:
- Bikita Minerals (Sinomine Resource Group, US$200 m+ plant) — petalite + spodumene.
- Arcadia / Prospect Lithium (Huayou Cobalt, US$300 m) — Goromonzi.
- Sabi Star (Chengxin Lithium, US$130 m) — Buhera.
- Zulu Lithium (Premier African Minerals + Canmax) — Bulawayo.
- Kamativi (Jimbi Metals JV).
Export ban on raw lithium ore (Dec 2022) is forcing concentration & beneficiation.
Opportunity: downstream lithium sulphate / carbonate refining still mostly absent.

Ferrochrome / chrome

World's 2nd largest chrome reserves on Great Dyke.
ZIMASCO (Sinosteel), Zimalloys, Afrochine (Tsingshan) — ferrochrome smelting.
Tsingshan's "Dinson Iron & Steel" Manhize project in Chivhu — Africa's largest integrated carbon-steel plant (US$1.5 bn phase 1) — commissioned 2024.

Diamonds

Marange fields; ZCDC merged into Marange Resources / ZCDC; output ~4.5 m carats 2023.
Murowa (RioZim subsidiary) — kimberlite, smaller but higher-quality.

Coal & coal-bed methane

Hwange Colliery (ZSE-listed) — primary coal supplier to Hwange Power Station.
New entrants: Makomo Resources, Zambezi Gas, Coal Brick.
CBM untapped potential ~40 trillion cubic feet.

Nickel

Bindura Nickel Corporation (Asa Resources) — Trojan Mine; care-and-maintenance cycles.

Other

Iron ore (Manhize), coking coal, copper (Mhangura legacy), tungsten, tin, beryllium, rare earths (early exploration: Steenkampskraal-style projects).

Profitability

Commodity	Typical margin	Notes
Gold (med-cost mine)	40–55% EBITDA	Best of the bunch
Lithium concentrate	30–40%	Beneficiation flips this much higher
PGM basket	10–20%	Price-pressured
Ferrochrome	5–15%	Electricity intensive
Diamonds	20–30%	Variable per parcel
Coal	15–25%	Domestic-priced

Challenges

Electricity: smelters need stable power; Tsingshan is building captive 50 MW coal-fired.
Forex retention: exporters must surrender 25% at official rate (improved from 40%).
Royalty regime: half-cash, half in-kind for select minerals (gold, lithium, PGMs).
Illicit gold leakage: estimated US$1.5 bn+/yr to porous borders (NGO Maverick Citizen).
Beneficiation rules: raw-ore export bans require capex.
Environmental and ASM safety incidents drive reputational risk.

Advantages

Tier-1 geological endowment.
Existing infrastructure on Great Dyke (Zimplats, Mimosa, Unki) lowers brownfield capex.
Skilled mining labour base.
Investor-friendly mining code 2018 reforms; Special Mining Lease available.

Example companies

Caledonia Mining (NYSE/AIM): Blanket Mine + Bilboes.
Zimplats (Impala): Africa's biggest PGM single-shaft complex.
Bindura Nickel (ZSE): historical nickel producer.
RioZim (ZSE): diversified — gold, diamonds, base metals.
Hwange Colliery (ZSE/JSE): coal monopoly turned restructured.
Padenga Holdings (ZSE): unusual pivot from crocodile farming to gold mining.

Opportunity hooks

Lithium refining (carbonate/sulphate) JV with offtake to BYD/CATL/Tesla supply chain.
ASM formalisation: traceability tech, mercury-free amalgamation, fair-trade gold.
Mining services: drilling, geotech, assay labs, mining software.
Renewable energy PPAs to smelters and mines (solar + wind + storage).
Tailings re-processing (gold, PGMs) using modern flotation.