Noida, India / Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe – September 9, 2026
Indian critical-minerals company Lohum said Wednesday it has dispatched its first shipment of lithium ore from its mining assets in Zimbabwe, marking the start of its overseas mining operations and making it, by its own account, the first Indian company to produce lithium from assets outside the country.
Asset Details
Lohum holds rights to 10 spodumene-bearing lithium mining blocks in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South Province, covering approximately 1,100 hectares, with an option to extend to 90 additional blocks. The company estimates the assets contain 30–40 million tonnes of spodumene ore, sufficient to support production of around 300,000 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over the life of the assets, deposits Lohum values at approximately $7 billion at current lithium carbonate prices.
Founder and CEO Rajat Verma told Business Standard the company is targeting annual production of around 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate from the Zimbabwe assets within two to three years. “The operations have commenced. We expect the first batch of ores to start coming out in the next one week or so,” Verma said.
First Direct Ownership of Overseas Mining Assets
Verma said the Zimbabwe operation is Lohum’s first mining asset outside India. The company has previously partnered with mines in several countries by processing concentrates produced at those operations, but Zimbabwe marks its first instance of directly owning mining assets abroad. Lohum said it is also exploring opportunities in other critical minerals, particularly nickel and nickel-copper ores.
Downstream Plans
Lohum intends to extend the value chain further downstream by building cathode active material manufacturing capacity, which Verma said could make the company an internal customer for its own lithium carbonate before supplying cell manufacturers. The company said it already has customers in India and overseas for lithium carbonate and is in discussions with additional domestic companies.
Zimbabwe’s Export Policy Context
Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest lithium producer, plans to ban exports of lithium concentrate from January 2027, aiming to push mining companies to process more of their output domestically. The country had briefly suspended concentrate exports in February 2026 before reauthorising them under quotas and conditions, including commitments to build local processing facilities. China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, which along with other Chinese firms dominates Zimbabwe’s lithium mining sector, began producing lithium sulphate from its $400 million plant at the Arcadia mine in early 2026, with capacity exceeding 50,000 metric tonnes annually.
Lohum’s stated intention to develop processing capability within Zimbabwe, rather than solely exporting raw ore, aligns with this policy direction.
