By- Officials at Beitbridge Border Post have intercepted a consignment of lithium ore on three haulage trucks belonging to one Bernard Tafadzwa Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa was smuggling the ore from Zimbabwe to South Africa and had declared it as manganese.

Mines and Mineral Development ministry officials arrived at the border post on Friday morning to attend to the trucks, now under police and Zimbabwe National Army guard.
It is understood that the raw mineral was extracted from places near Sandawana in Mberengwa and transported to Bulawayo, where it was kept near Khami Cafe close to Bulawayo’s Vehicle Inspection Department.
The mineral was reportedly stored there to facilitate smuggling.

Zimbabwe has abundant deposits of lithium and, with rising global demand and firmer prices, it has become an attractive destination for investment in this resource.

-NewsDay