The opportunity

Hard data behind the Zimbabwe value-addition thesis.

A February 2026 raw-export ban has made beneficiation mandatory — turning Zimbabwe's mineral endowment into a processing opportunity, priced in dollars.

The numbers

Why now.

US$0.0B
Global ferrochrome market (2026)
Projected US$22.0B by 2035
~0%
Of global chrome reserves
Held on Zimbabwe's Great Dyke
0.00M t
2025 spodumene exports
≈15% of China's 2025 imports
US$0K
Battery-grade Li₂CO₃ per t
Q1 2026 — +97% vs. trough
US$0
Gold price per oz
Q1 2026 average; record territory
US$0.0B+
Chinese investment 2021–25
Zimbabwe lithium acquisitions
~0%
Zim mining share of GDP
Largest single-sector contributor
Feb 2026
Raw-export ban enacted
Beneficiation now mandatory

Sources: MMCZ, RBZ, MINING.COM, IEA, World Bank commodity briefs (May 2026).

Investment strategy

What we invest in, how, and where we say no.

01

Beneficiation, not extraction

Capital is allocated to processing — ferrochrome smelting, lithium sulphate, gold tolling — not to raw-mineral exposure. Aligned with Feb 2026 export-ban policy.

02

Concession-backed cash flow

Hunting, tourism and mining concessions provide statutorily-protected USD revenue streams under ZPWMA, ZTA and Ministry of Mines frameworks.

03

Structured, not direct

All investor capital sits in US and SA accounts. Zimbabwean exposure is contractual (offtake, leases, royalties) — not balance-sheet.

Targets

  • Ferrochrome smelting JVs (Great Dyke)
  • Lithium sulphate / hydroxide beneficiation
  • Gold tolling operations (Fidelity-channelled)
  • Hunting / tourism concession acquisitions
  • USD trade finance for processed exports
  • Mining concession brokerage & roll-ups

Out of scope

  • Direct raw-mineral export (now illegal)
  • Greenfield exploration without offtake
  • ZWG-denominated working capital
  • Counterparties on OFAC / UN / EU lists
  • Distressed gold smuggling channels
  • Single-asset agricultural concentration
On the deals themselves

What the underlying deals target.

The headline 2.0–2.5× net is the pooled fund, after fees. On the single-asset deals — the minerals processing and concessions themselves — the targets run higher.

20–28%
Processing co-investments
Ferrochrome smelting, lithium, gold tolling
18–25%
Concession SPVs
Hunting, tourism, mining concessions
18–24%
Pooled Fund I, net
Blended, after 2% fee + 20% carry

Indicative target net IRR (USD); forward-looking and not guaranteed.

See the full return profile