This trade brief attempts to evaluate the potential of Zimbabwe’s recently announced export ban on lithium ore to succeed. In this case, ‘success’ is defined as the development of domestic lithium ore beneficiation industry, specifically the development of lithium-based battery manufacturing. The brief sketches the background to the ban, compares the actions and relative success of other developing country minerals exporters, examines some data on Zimbabwe’s trade in this material and its current capacity to add value and finally recommends some policy approaches to the problem.

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