Indian critical minerals producer LOHUM has dispatched its first tranche of lithium ore from newly acquired mining blocks in Zimbabwe's Matabeleland South province, marking the start of production at its first mining operation outside India.

Reuters and the Press Trust of India reported the September 9 shipment, which moves a company until now focused on battery recycling and refining into upstream mining.

LOHUM has secured rights to 10 spodumene-bearing blocks covering about 1,100 hectares, which it estimates hold 30mn-40mn tonnes of ore capable of supporting around 300,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent over their operating lives.

The company, founded in 2018 by Chief Executive Rajat Verma, also holds an option over as many as 90 adjacent blocks. LOHUM puts the gross in-situ value of the initial deposits at about $7bn at current lithium prices, while cautioning that this is neither a project valuation nor a forecast of returns.

LOHUM is targeting annual output of about 30,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate within two to three years. It plans to mine and carry out initial beneficiation in Zimbabwe before sending material to India, where it is building a dedicated lithium refinery whose location has not been disclosed.

"We are approaching Zimbabwe as a long-term partner, building processing capability locally rather than shipping ore out," Verma said.

Developing concentration capacity locally aligns with Harare's drive to capture more mineral value onshore. Zimbabwe, Africa's largest lithium producer, plans to ban lithium concentrate exports from January 2027 to force deeper domestic processing, after banning exports of unprocessed lithium ore in 2022.

For India, the venture advances a wider effort to secure critical mineral supplies abroad. The country remains almost entirely dependent on imports for its lithium, while the government's seven-year National Critical Mineral Mission, with INR163bn ($1.70bn) in proposed government expenditure and INR180bn ($1.88bn) in expected investment by public-sector companies and other stakeholders, aims to secure at least 50 overseas mining assets by 2031.

LOHUM says the Zimbabwe blocks are its first directly owned mining assets abroad, extending a business that already spans refining, advanced materials and battery recycling.