With control of nearly 90% of Zimbabwe’s mining industry, Chinese companies are facing a new level of scrutiny, particularly in the lithium sector. Local communities, civil society and environmental groups have accused mining operations of widespread exploitation and abuse.
Zimbabwe sits on the largest lithium deposits on the continent and the sixth-largest reserves in the world. Mining is central to the economy, accounting for about 14.5% of gross domestic product and 75% of national exports. In 2025, Zimbabwe exported 1.128 million metric tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate to China, 11% more than in 2024.
But accusations of malpractice and the smuggling of raw ore led the Ministry of Mines in February to announce the immediate suspension of lithium concentrates exports, including those that were already in transit. The news was unexpected because it preceded the planned suspension of exports by one year. As global demand for lithium has skyrocketed, Zimbabwe is seeking to move higher up the supply chain by having ore processed into battery-grade materials domestically.
The January discovery of Zimbabwean ore stockpiled at the Port of Beira in Mozambique prompted authorities to investigate whether it was smuggled out in violation of export restrictions.
“I wish to remind everyone who is involved in mining, as well as our law enforcement agencies who man our ports of entry, that government took a position of slapping a blanket ban on the exportation of mineral ore with a view to ensuring that there is greater value addition activity on our minerals,” presidential spokesperson George Charamba told Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald in January.
“In the event that the stockpiles in Beira are found to relate to minerals to which this ban applies and that they found their way beyond our territory without the necessary permission, government, working closely with the sister Republic of Mozambique, will ensure that the bridge is repaired swiftly and without fear or favour.”
Environmental and civil society groups say that some Chinese companies operate with little accountability, damaging the environment while exposing workers to dangerous conditions. Communities living near lithium mining areas have complained of water contamination, groundwater depletion and hazardous dust pollution linked to mining.
“Critics say this close relationship has allowed some Chinese companies to operate above the law, aided by corrupt local officials who prioritize personal gain over public interest,” journalist Mbam Chisom wrote in an October 2025 article on Nigerian website The Africa Scorecard.
In December 2025, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) called for the government to rein in Chinese companies accused of labor and rights violations.
“We have serious misgivings particularly as pertaining to Chinese companies who seem to ignore the issues of decent work in their companies,” ZCTU Deputy Secretary-General Runesu Dzimiri told the New Zimbabwe website. “Some openly say they are protected by some authorities.”
Zimbabwean workers in Chinese-operated mines often face dangerous conditions and work long hours with meager wages. There have been fatal accidents attributed to company negligence, as watchdog groups describe a systemic disregard for safety procedures. There also are documented cases of human rights violations, such as a mine operated by a Chinese national who subjected female employees to mandatory medical testing.
Recent examples of Chinese nationals charged with murdering employees and members of the surrounding community have sparked national outrage. In October 2025, a Chinese security supervisor at Zhuhe Mining Investments in Mashonaland East province fatally shot a local man for trespassing.
“This is not an isolated case,” a civil society leader in Marondera, Mashonaland East, told The Africa Scorecard. “It reflects a broader pattern of exploitation and disregard for our people and our laws. Communities are losing their land and livelihoods while the profits are exported abroad.”
ZCTU Secretary-General Tirivanhu Marimo in September 2025 blasted the conduct of Chinese nationals within their mining companies, along with their “local enablers.”
“The mounting complaints of barbaric conduct at Chinese operations constitute not just a breach of labour rights but a direct assault on Zimbabwe’s sovereignty, showing contempt for both human rights and the rule of law,” he said in a September 2025 statement.
“If the government’s mantra of ‘Zimbabwe is Open for Business’ is to carry legitimacy, it cannot serve as a smokescreen for modern-day slavery where foreign investment becomes synonymous with unchecked violence, exploitation and impunity.”