HUMANKIND is inclined to bask in the abundance of God-given, natural resources. Yet history also proves creative, innovative management is the key that unlocks the gifts of water and food so that human societies will flourish, even in the desert.

Zimbabwe is well endowed with rich agricultural land, a fairly good climate, diamonds, gold, cobalt, zinc, platinum and quite lately we have discovered lithium.

Yet today, 80% of Zimbabweans languish in unemployment and poverty.

is is a follow up on an earlier (February 2022) article on lithium mining in Zimbabwe, which focused on important recommendations of the Africa University about mining in the context of local social and natural environments.

is follow up, or second article attends to the question: how can Zimbabwe benefit from the abundance of lithium as a relatively new strategic resource in the foreseeable future while avoiding the so-called resource curse?

Our recommendations focus on opportunities for Africa from decarbonisation at a global level; imperatives for resource nationalism; technology transfer and value chain management; and economic governance.

For many decades the development literature is filled with intriguing observations about pervasive tendencies for poverty in Africa to worsen. In 1995 the World Bank noted “. . . the number of people living in poverty in sub-Saharan Africa to ‘increase to 100 million by the end of the century’. (World Bank 1994; Rural Household Studies In Zimbabwe: A Review By BH Kinsey, Hilary Mcquie And Mandivamba Rukuni Working Paper AEE 2/95). Key goals of the African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa in May 2022 focused on more effective contributions of governments, public agencies and mining houses in Africa towards education development, employment creation, poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Africa.

Goromonzi district in Mashonaland East Province is endowed with fertile soils, suitable for intensive and extensive agricultural production.

Its proximity to Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare, means the district enjoys advantages for agro-industrial production, as well as rapid growth in real estate, mining, manufacturing and downstream industries. Yet in 2022, the 1 600-km road network in the district is in a dilapidated state. Clinics, health centres and schools are overcrowded and deficient in terms of basic services.

e Arcadia Lithium Mining project in Ward 13 Goromonzi district was kickstarted by Australia’s Prospect Resources. On April 20, 2022 the project was eventually sold for about US$400 million to Chinese Investors in a transaction that comprised cash consideration of approximately US$377,8 million, payment of US$26,8 million in Zimbabwean capital gains tax, and US$8 million to Sinomine.

e Chinese investors told African Business that the investment in Zimbabwe was “an attractive investment destination for Chinese new energy companies” as it would increase the leading lithium compound producer’s lithium resource reserve, guarantee the company with resource supply for capacity expansion, especially abroad, and further enhance its competitiveness in the industry of lithium new energy material.”

According to the 2021 African Mining Markets report, Zimbabwe's Bikita Lithium Mine, in southwestern Masvingo, holds the world's largest-known deposit of the alkali metal, at around 11 million tonnes.

“Zimbabwe is the leading country in Africa to produce lithium ore, and the 4th largest in the world”.

With the economic inequalities district’s Ward 13, the in Goromonzi’s prevalence of unemployment, low incomes, (households subsisting below US$1 per day) and the high (45%) dependency ratio, Goromonzi is certainly a microcosm of glaring inequalities at national and regional levels. us in the end, the causes of impoverishment and the means by which the process can be reversed remain central issues for policy analysts, policy managers in Zimbabwe as elsewhere in Africa.

Global trends

e global lithium metal production is forecast to surpass 100 thousand metric tons in 2023. In addition, with the surge in global market demand ahead of supply, the world market price for lithium could increase from the current (2022) price of $16 500 per ton. (table 1)

In addition to Zimbabwe, other African countries that have discovered lithium deposits include Namibia, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. ese add to a long list of African nations with a long mining history, particularly critical knowledge around the development of appropriate policies and management of development.

What’s in it for Africa?

Opportunities from decarbonisation:

e Africa Finance Corporation states that global shifts towards decarbonisation represent significant opportunities to Africa as the continent is home to key battery minerals including cobalt, copper, lithium and manganese.

Resource nationalism: Fitch Solutions, mining investment and policy experts, note that Africa can benefit from Chinese mining investments through job creation, taxes, the transfer of technology, and funding. But this also calls for a rise in government intervention in the global mining sector. “Resource nationalism … takes several forms, including renegotiation of existing mining contracts to get better terms, increase in taxes/royalties on the mining sector, asset nationalisation (forced equity transfers or the threat of them), in-country beneficiation, or export restrictions. In this way, African countries also stand to improve the extent of gains they have been making from Chinese investment in the coming years,”

Technology transfer: According to e Institute of Development Studies (IDSUK) Chinese mining deals in Africa present important opportunities for African governments to get involved in the crucial value chain of lithium battery industries, as well as for other renewable energy projects that also need energy storage facilities. “ese deals can facilitate technology transfer to African countries and enhance their preliminary industrial process capacity in the coming years… Financially, these resource exports can be particularly crucial to relieve the debt service pressure in the short run as the price of lithium has been and is expected to continue to rise sharply in the coming years,”). IDS-UK further notes that lithium deals provide useful learning opportunities for Africa. “So beyond the big challenge to balance short-term financial gains and long-term technological/

Manyanya and Nyadome are policy analysts.

ese weekly New Horizon articles published in the Zimbabwe Independent are coordinated by Lovemore Kadenge, an independent consultant, past president of the Zimbabwe Economics Society and past president of the Chartered Governance & Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGI Zimbabwe). — kadenge.zes@gmail. com or mobile: +263 772 382 852.