Zimbabwe is exploring using its mineral wealth to secure financing for major infrastructure projects with China, as the southern African nation seeks new ways to fund roads and railway upgrades amid a US$34 billion infrastructure deficit.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said Harare had begun discussions with China Railway on resource-backed financing arrangements during the World Economic Forum in Dalian.
“We spoke to them about resource-linked debt instruments that we want to explore going forward to support our infrastructure development, especially roads and rail,” Ncube told reporters.
Under the proposed model, Zimbabwe would use future revenues from its natural resources to support repayment of loans tied to specific infrastructure projects.
The finance minister said the government would determine which roads and rail projects to prioritise, their costs, expected toll revenue, and how much additional investment would be required from mineral resources to repay the financing.
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Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest lithium producer, holds significant deposits of minerals including lithium, platinum, gold and other resources. However, years of economic challenges, underinvestment and political instability have left much of its infrastructure in poor condition.
The African Development Bank estimates Zimbabwe requires about $34 billion to modernise its transport and logistics networks.
The country’s railway system is a key focus because it is essential for moving minerals to export markets. Its revival is also of interest to Chinese mining companies, which have become major investors in Zimbabwe’s extractive sector.
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The proposed approach mirrors other resource-backed infrastructure financing models in Africa, including a $7 billion minerals-for-infrastructure agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chinese companies under the Sicomines copper and cobalt partnership.
Lithium export restrictions to proceed
Separately, Ncube said Zimbabwe would proceed with a planned ban on exports of lithium concentrate from January 2027 despite calls from mining companies for more time to prepare.
The move is part of government efforts to encourage local processing and capture more value from the country’s mineral resources.
Chinese companies have invested more than US$2 billion in Zimbabwe’s lithium industry since 2021, strengthening Beijing’s role in a mineral supply chain critical to electric vehicle battery production.
Ncube said lithium concentrates could be processed locally through facilities including a lithium sulphate plant built by Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and another facility being developed at Sinomine Resource Group’s Bikita lithium mine.
The government says greater domestic processing will help create jobs, increase export earnings and ensure Zimbabwe benefits more from its mineral resources rather than exporting raw materials.
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However, analysts say the success of the strategy will depend on whether Zimbabwe can attract enough investment, improve infrastructure and maintain a stable policy environment to support large-scale mineral processing.
