Lithium passes platinum metals in MMCZ sales as nine-month total doubles to US$4.74bn

The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) sold US$4.74 billion of minerals in the nine months to September 2026, up 101.8% from US$2.347 billion a year earlier. Volumes rose 23.4% to 4.738 million tonnes. The figures leave out gold and silver, which MMCZ does not market.¹

Lithium was the largest earner at about US$2.16 billion, or 45.6% of sales, from spodumene, petalite and lithium sulphate. Platinum group metals contributed US$1.729 billion, or 36.5%, leaving lithium roughly US$430 million ahead.¹

Price, not just tonnes

Spodumene concentrate drove the jump. Sales rose 368.2% to about US$1.812 billion, and the average realised value climbed to roughly US$1,483 a tonne, from US$387 a year earlier. Petalite sales rose 583.3% to US$155.29 million. Lithium sulphate, which was not sold at all in the same period last year, brought in US$190.52 million from about 33,807 tonnes.¹

Because value grew far faster than volume, higher prices were a big part of the gain. Mining Zimbabwe also suggests some producers may have been shipping concentrate ahead of the ban on unprocessed lithium exports due in 2027.¹ Our lithium page shows how the first half looked: US$746 million of lithium exports, of which US$73.2 million was sulphate.

MMCZ's outlook is mixed. It expects battery demand to keep supporting lithium, but says surplus feedstock and cautious restocking could limit price gains. It expects prices across commodities to stay well above 2025 levels in the fourth quarter.¹

What it means for lithium ground

Earlier this year we argued that local sulphate capacity shifts value onto pegmatite ground near processing. These numbers support the direction, with two cautions for buyers:

• Prices moved fast. A seller's asking price set when spodumene was near US$1,500 a tonne assumes that level holds. MMCZ itself flags possible price restraint.
• Concentrate exports end in 2027. After the ban, a small pegmatite's value depends on selling ore or concentrate to a local processor, not shipping it out. Ask who would buy the ore, and at what distance.

For sellers of lithium claims, strong national figures will draw interest, but buyers will still want assays, a clear route to a processor and current title. Every lot on our register should be verified in person at the provincial mining office before money moves.

PGMs also grew, with sales up 31.6% to about US$1.63 billion, although Zimplats furnace maintenance cut September dispatches. Ferrochrome, chrome concentrate, coke, granite and diamonds also rose in value and volume.¹