The ore was being smuggled from Zimbabwe to South Africa and was declared as manganese, NewsDay reported.

Mines and Mineral Development ministry officials arrived at the border post on Friday morning to attend to the trucks, now under police and Zimbabwe National Army guard.

It is understood that the raw mineral was extracted from places near Sandawana in Mberengwa, and transported to Bulawayo, where it was kept near Khami Cafe close to Bulawayo’s Vehicle Inspection Department.

The mineral was reportedly stored there to facilitate smuggling.

This comes after the government banned exports of raw lithium last week in an effort to value-add Zimbabwe’s minerals and support local production and employment creation.

The ban was effected through Statutory Instrument (SI) 213 of 2022 titled Base Mineral Export Control (Unbeneficiated Lithium Bearing Ores) Order, 2022.

Lithium is becoming increasingly important as the world shifts towards clean energy systems.

Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource.

In other news,

Mabrijo confirms dating and dumping DJ Towers

Mabrijo has confirmed that she dated and dumped DJ Towers because he was broke and has nothing to his name.

She said she was attracted to the Towers she saw on social media but in real life he has nothing. “Towers ndini ndaimuchengeta, that time ndandirimaid kuSouth Africa ndaiti ndikashanda otiMabrijo nditumirewo 300US$ ndikatoona kuti zvandavakushandira Towers….continue reading