Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zimbabwean Company Takes Steps Toward Lithium Battery Production, Embracing Value Addition

Zimbabwe, boasting Africa's largest lithium reserves, recently banned raw lithium exports, citing losses of US$1.8 billion due to smuggling. The government's Lithium Ore Policy, which aims to maximize earnings from the valuable mineral, has been implemented, effectively halting exports and smuggling of lithium-bearing ores.
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In a move that aligns with President Emmerson Mnangagwa's vision for value addition and beneficiation of the country's vast mineral resources, local Zimbabwean company Verify Engineering has ventured into lithium battery production.
Verify Engineering, a state-owned company established in 2005 under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, has a history of technological development in Zimbabwe.
The company is already involved in oxygen production, exporting much of its output to neighboring countries like Mozambique.
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"They are now working on new ventures; they are now into lithium battery production. It is still in its infancy, but we want to graduate to lithium batteries and eventually electric vehicle batteries," said Fanuel Tagwira, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education.
This initiative underscores the country's belief in the potential of its people. As Professor Tagwira emphasized, "In Zimbabwe, we have very learned people; the only thing that we had not done was give them a chance; we never gave them a chance."