Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, which is owned by China's Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, says it has paid more than US$100 million in taxes. It is asking for relief from what it describes as "double taxation", according to a report published by allAfrica on 12 October.

The company runs the Arcadia lithium mine outside Harare. Its tax complaint comes as the government presses ahead with its push to have lithium processed in Zimbabwe rather than exported as raw ore or concentrate.

The double-taxation complaint

The company's complaint centres on what it says are overlapping charges on the same output. Zimbabwe's lithium sector pays royalties and other levies on top of standard corporate taxes, and companies have previously complained about the combined burden. The allAfrica report presents the company's position. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) and the Ministry of Finance have not, as far as we can find, publicly responded to the specific claim.

Readers should note that "double taxation" is the company's own description. Whether any charge actually duplicates another is a matter for the tax authorities and, if necessary, the courts.

How big Huayou's bet is

Reports republished from state media this month put Huayou's total lithium investment in Zimbabwe at about US$1.4 billion, split three ways:

Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe (Arcadia): about US$700 million

Arcadia Technology Zimbabwe: about US$400 million, for a lithium sulphate plant

Sandawana, through Mutapa Energy Resources: about US$300 million

Reuters reported in April that Huayou had made its first exports of lithium salt from Zimbabwe. These came from the new sulphate plant, a more processed product than the concentrate that dominated exports until recently.

The policy backdrop

The government has said it will ban the export of lithium concentrate from January 2027. It wants miners to build processing plants in the country so that more of the value, and more of the jobs, stay at home. The ministry has said there will be no delay to that deadline.

Official figures released this month show mineral sales and gold deliveries reached an estimated US$9.93 billion in the first nine months of 2026. Lithium is among the minerals the government credits for the growth.

Large investors such as Huayou argue that predictable and competitive tax treatment is essential if they are to fund expensive processing plants. The government says its policies have brought in record mining revenue. How the tax dispute is resolved is likely to be watched closely by other lithium miners weighing their own processing investments.

What it means for the sector

Arcadia is one of the country's largest lithium operations, so any change to how it is taxed could set a precedent for other producers. Smaller miners, many of whom are still deciding whether to build their own processing plants or sell to those that have, will be looking at the cost of compliance before the 2027 deadline.

What happens next

Neither the Ministry of Finance nor Zimra had commented publicly on the request at the time of writing. We will update this story with any response, and with any decision on the company's request for relief.

Sources: allAfrica, 12 Oct 2026: https://allafrica.com/stories/202610120323.html · Zimbabwe Situation (republishing Herald), Oct 2026: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/us14bn-boost-for-lithium-projects/ · Reuters, 28 Apr 2026 (background): https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/chinas-huayou-reports-first-lithium-salt-exports-zimbabwe-2026-04-28/