Zimbabwe has tightened regulations and stepped up its crackdown on mineral smuggling, a month after banning raw lithium exports in a major policy shift drawing both praise and concern.

The February 26 ban applies to all raw minerals but targets lithium, a key resource of which Zimbabwe is Africa's largest producer.

While the move has been welcomed as a long overdue effort to curb the loss of national wealth, critics have questioned its practicality, while workers fear potential job losses.

Authorities had earlier planned to ban raw exports from January 2027 to drive local processing and industrialization, in line with similar steps taken by countries including Malawi.

However, the government brought the ban forward by 10 months after detecting a surge in production and export applications by mining firms seeking to move stock ahead of the deadline.

Mining Minister Polite Kambamura said Zimbabwe's complex geology allows valuable minerals to be concealed within other exports, enabling untaxed shipments of secondary minerals such as tantalum, beryl and tin.

He said the absence of domestic processing and export controls limits the government's ability to fully assess and tax mineral wealth.

Authorities plan to install scanning technology at border posts, develop a critical minerals policy and conduct a new survey to map rare earth resources, amid concerns over significant but unquantified financial leakages.