A new report by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation (ZELO) has raised alarm over deepening water conflicts in the country’s lithium-rich regions, warning that the rapid expansion of mining and processing operations is placing unbearable pressure on already water-scarce rural communities. The report,Mine to Market: Critical Minerals – Zimbabwe’s Lithium Supply and Value Chain, maps key actors and activities across the lithium industry and highlights growing tensions between mining companies and residents in areas such as Bikita, Gwanda and Buhera, where lithium extraction is accelerating. According to ZELO, most large-scale lithium projects are located in Zimbabwe’s driest agro-ecological zones (IV and V), characterised by low rainfall, high temperatures and chronic water shortages.
The organisation said mining companies urgently need to implement water-demand management systems, recycle process water and provide community boreholes where feasible. “Collaborative water governance can reduce tensions between communities and lithium producers, especially in water-stressed regions such as Bikita, Gwanda and Buhera,” the report notes. “Given the significant water requirements for lithium extraction and processing, mining companies and processing plants should develop and implement water-demand management systems and environmental due-diligence mechanisms.” ZELO said such measures would help reduce conflicts over water access, ensure sustainable resource use and protect local ecosystems.
During field visits, communities living near large-scale lithium mines consistently voiced concerns about shrinking access to water. “Most of Zimbabwe’s lithium extraction and processing operations are in arid and semi-arid regions … characterised by low and erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration rates and chronic water scarcity,” the report states. Processing lithium-bearing minerals, particularly spodumene, is highly water-intensive, requiring large volumes for crushing, flotation and concentration.
[paywall]
ZELO said this creates significant environmental and social challenges in communities where both households and livestock depend on limited water sources. Residents in several areas reported declining borehole yields, seasonal shortages and reduced water availability, impacts they attribute to nearby mining activities. Beyond scarcity, ZELO warned of growing concerns over groundwater contamination from potential leakages or failures of tailings dams. “Such incidents could release toxic effluents and chemical residues into local water bodies, with long-term consequences for ecosystems, human health and livelihoods,” the report says.
[/paywall]
