In an endeavour to unpack Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth, its role in the global green energy transition, and the enduring socio-economic paradox of resource abundance, Professor Tumai Murombo delivered a keynote that was as sobering as it was provocative at the 14th Zimbabwe Alternative Mining Indaba (ZAMI) 2025 in Bulawayo. The event brought together government ministers, traditional leaders, civil society actors, clergy, and mining communities under the banner: “From Extraction to Sustainable Development: Unlocking Zimbabwe’s Mineral Wealth for Inclusive Growth in the Just Energy Transition.” What unfolded over a 20-minute keynote was not a conventional celebration of minerals, investment, or national pride. Instead, Prof.
Murombo presented a deeply analytical, historically informed critique of the structural, political, and environmental forces that have shaped Zimbabwe’s mining sector for over a millennium. His thesis was clear: the nation’s critical minerals, while globally sought after, have historically functioned more as a curse than a blessing. Defining Critical Minerals: Wealth or Strategic Commodity?
Critical minerals are substances deemed essential for modern technology, energy security, and industrial development. Globally, the term has gained prominence in the context of the green energy revolution—lithium for batteries, cobalt for electric vehicles, nickel for energy storage, and rare earth elements for electronics. Zimbabwe sits at the center of this discourse, endowed with significant deposits of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and platinum group metals (PGMs), as well as gold, diamonds, and chrome.
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Murombo challenged the audience to confront the gap between global demand and local benefit. “These minerals,” he stated, “fuel industries, technologies, and economies elsewhere while our communities bear the costs. Who truly benefits from Zimbabwe’s critical minerals?
Is it us, or the global market?” The definition of critical minerals, he argued, cannot be limited to their economic or technological utility alone. It must encompass social justice, community well-being, environmental stewardship, and national development. Otherwise, their extraction risks repeating centuries of inequity under the guise of progress.
The “mineral curse” refers to the paradox whereby countries rich in natural resources often experience slower economic growth, weaker institutions, and persistent inequality compared to resource-poor nations. Zimbabwe provides a striking historical illustration. Mining in Zimbabwe dates back to the 7th century, when gold from the Kingdom of Mapungubwe and later Great Zimbabwe fueled sophisticated trade networks across Southern Africa.
Local rulers accrued wealth, but broad-based prosperity remained elusive. The colonial era intensified extraction. Murombo traced this lineage to the present: “Up to 2025, we are still crying.
Mining has always been a double-edged sword—creating revenue while leaving communities, ecosystems, and livelihoods deeply scarred.” He highlighted contemporary examples: artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) struggle with regulatory hurdles and limited access to markets, while large-scale operators generate significant export revenue yet often marginalise local communities. Open pits, tailings, and water contamination remain persistent hazards, and local employment gains are frequently modest relative to the mineral wealth extracted.
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