The Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) — the exclusive government agent for selling and exporting all minerals except gold and silver — recorded total mineral sales of 1,288,761 metric tonnes valued at US$983.85 million in the first quarter of 2026, surpassing Q1 2025’s sales values by 79 percent, buoyed by government’s ban on unbeneficiated minerals.
The sales volumes for the period under review exceeded last year first quarter by 27 percent.
MMCZ said it is “firmly on track to meet and potentially exceed its annual revenue projection of US$3.5 billion”.
During the quarter, the government of Zimbabwe enacted a ban on the export of unbeneficiated minerals and MMCZ stated that the policy’s impact was “felt immediately and measurably.
“Against this transformative backdrop, MMCZ recorded an outstanding sales performance for the quarter…,” the corporation said.
It said the impressive revenue performance was also “driven by improved prices across the majority of mineral commodities, with rough diamonds remaining the only category where price pressures continued to weigh on revenue performance”.
MMCZ said platinum group metals delivered an exceptional value performance during the quarter, collectively contributing US$543.97 million in export revenue across both concentrate and matte categories.
“PGM concentrate sales reached 30,178 metric tonnes valued at US$191.73 million, representing a 98 percent increase in volume and a 319 percent surge in value against the same period in 2025, the strongest year-on-year value growth of any commodity in the quarter,” it said.
PGM matte sales amounted to 3,080 metric tonnes valued at US$352.24 million.
While volumes declined by 38 percent from 4,761.77 metric tonnes in Q1 2025, the value realised increased by 69 percent from the 2025 figure of US$208.43 million.
“The strong value performance across both PGM categories was underpinned by firming global PGM prices, reflecting sustained demand for these critical minerals in automotive, industrial and clean energy applications,” MMCZ said.
Lithium, whose raw exports were also recently banned, recorded the strongest performance during the quarter, with sales reaching 240,826 metric tonnes valued at US$178.64 million, a two percent increase in volume and an impressive 106 percent surge in value against the 224,610 metric tonnes valued at US$84.19 million recorded in Q1 2025.
“Government’s ban on lithium concentrates exports, while producing short-term disruption to global spot supplies, has solidified Zimbabwe’s strategic influence over the global battery supply chain through domestic processing,” the corporation said.
“As a supplier of approximately 15 percent of the spodumene imported into China, Zimbabwe is a critical and vertically integrated partner for the world’s leading battery manufacturers, and the shift to processed products is projected to drive lithium export revenues beyond US$1 billion, significantly amplifying the sector’s contribution to national GDP,” MMCZ General Manager Nomusa Jane Moyo added.
Steel delivered one of the most outstanding performances of the quarter, with Q1 2026 sales reaching 190,612 metric tonnes valued at US$68.22 million, representing a remarkable 150 percent increase in volume and a 254 percent increase in value against the same period in 2025, when sales stood at 76,163 metric tonnes valued at US$19.25 million.
This exceptional growth, MMCZ said, is directly attributable to increased production of value-added steel products and strong regional market demand, a compelling demonstration of what beneficiation delivers in practice.
Combined ferrochrome and ferro alloy sales for Q1 2026 amounted to 67,405 metric tonnes valued at US$65.81 million, reflecting declines of 28 percent in volume and eight percent in value against the same period in 2025 when 94,078.67 metric tonnes valued at US$70.52 million were sold.
Notably, the average realised price per tonne improved during the quarter, due to a more favourable product mix and resilient pricing.
Coal and coke exports delivered a strong volume performance, with total sales reaching 491,318 metric tonnes valued at US$50.77 million, a 30 percent increase in volume against the 378,355 metric tonnes recorded in Q1 2025.
Diamond sales amounted to 784,764 carats valued at US$21.55 million, reflecting declines of 11 percent in volume and 29 percent in value against the same period in 2025.
“The performance was impacted by two converging factors: production challenges and sustained downward pressure on natural diamond prices driven by the growing competitiveness of lab-grown diamonds in the global market,” MMCZ said
Going forward, MMCZ said “the ongoing US-Iran conflict remains the most consequential variable for global mineral markets”.