“Local people are the losers.”
Zimbabwe’s lithium exports went from $1.8 million to $80 million in a few years. The locals saw almost none of it. Chinese-owned mines displaced families, cracked down on small-scale miners, and created conditions where six women reported sexual assault by security guards. A 22-year-old was shot dead by mine security. The government banned raw lithium exports, forcing locals to sell to Chinese processors at rock-bottom prices. Your EV battery has a body count that nobody in the supply chain wants to talk about.