Zimbabwe climbed to fourth among the world's lithium miners
Rank in lithium mine production (lithium content), 2022 and 2024, the six largest producers. US Geological Survey.
- 1. By 2100, more than 1 in 3 people will be African
- 2. Nearly half the world's under-25s will be African by 2100
- 3. DR Congo is projected to outgrow the US by 2100
- 4. Kinshasa will soon be bigger than Paris and London combined
- 5. Two-thirds of the world's mobile money moves in Africa
- 6. Volcanic heat makes nearly 45% of the power Kenya generates
- 7. Africa's solar imports more than doubled since early 2024
- 8. DR Congo mines three-quarters of the world's cobalt
- 9. Nearly two in three people in Africa are still offline
- 10. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste
- 11. Ethiopia added over a third of Africa's new renewable power
- 12. Nigeria's cities now hold more people than Japan's
- 13. Sudan now has the world's most people displaced at home
- 14. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 15. Six of the ten fastest-growing big cities are African
- 16. Africa now has more hungry people than Asia
- 17. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
- 18. Rwanda spread electricity faster than any country since 2014
- 19. Nigeria now eats more rice than Japan
- 20. More sub-Saharan Africans now have mobile money than bank accounts
- 21. Sub-Saharan Africa's cities now hold more people than Latin America's
- 22. DR Congo tripled its copper mining in ten years
- 23. Nitrogen dioxide over Khartoum fell 39% after war began
- 24. Countries mostly without electricity fell from 33 to 15
- 25. Seven in ten West African mobile money accounts sit idle
- 26. Nigeria became the third-biggest sender of students abroad
- 27. Guinea overtook Australia as the world's biggest bauxite miner
- 28. DR Congo passed Chile in refined copper
- 29. Burkina Faso now sends half its exports to the UAE
- 30. Nouakchott's mobile internet sped from Africa's slowest to top 30
- 31. Nigeria now imports more solar panels than generators
- 32. Zimbabwe climbed to fourth among the world's lithium miners
Zimbabwe's rank in 2024, up from sixth in 2022, behind only Australia, Chile and China.
Lithium Zimbabwe mined in 2024, about 19 times its 1,030 t of 2022, ahead of Argentina's 13,800 t.
Zimbabwe's share of world lithium mining in 2024: Africa's biggest source of the battery metal, by far.
the numbers & method
| 2022 (t) | 2024 (t) | |
|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | 1,030 | 20,000 |
| Australia | 74,700 | 82,700 |
| Chile | 38,000 | 48,900 |
| China | 22,600 | 41,400 |
| Argentina | 6,590 | 13,800 |
| Brazil | 2,630 | 10,200 |
Claim types Fact · Estimate · Interpretation
Mine production, metric tons of lithium content, US production withheld (world totals exclude the US). 2024: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, lithium: Australia 82,700; Chile 48,900; China 41,400; Zimbabwe 20,000; Argentina 13,800; Brazil 10,200; Canada 4,820; world 222,000 (rounded). 2022: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024, lithium (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024-lithium.pdf): Australia 74,700; Chile 38,000; China 22,600; Argentina 6,590; Brazil 2,630; Zimbabwe 1,030 (estimate). 2023 (MCS 2025): Australia 91,700; Chile 41,400; China 35,700 (estimate); Zimbabwe 14,900 (estimate); Argentina 8,630; Brazil 5,260 (estimate): Zimbabwe first ranked fourth in 2023. 2025 estimates (MCS 2026): Australia 92,000; China 62,000; Chile 56,000; Zimbabwe 28,000; Argentina 23,000; Brazil 12,000; world 290,000; Zimbabwe still fourth. Ranks exclude the United States (withheld). Ranks, ratio (20,000 ÷ 1,030 = 19.4) and share (20,000 ÷ 222,000 = 9.0%) are progrss calculations. Takeaway 3's second clause is Interpretation.
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