The country’s booming lithium sector has been rocked by fresh allegations of corruption with mining firm Pulserate Lithium accused of using political influence and questionable court processes to take over lithium-rich claims in Mutoko.
At the centre of the dispute are mining claims in the Makosa area long held by Barrington Resources, which alleges that Pulserate unlawfully displaced it after failing to buy the ground through negotiations in 2022.
A Mutoko resident has formally petitioned the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) calling for an investigation into claims that Pulserate invoked the names of senior government officials to bypass mining regulations and intimidate authorities tasked with resolving the dispute.
In the complaint, the resident warns that the allegations threaten to undermine confidence in the country’s mining sector at a time when the country is positioning itself as a key global supplier of lithium a mineral critical to electric vehicle batteries.
Barrington says Pulserate first approached it between May and July 2022 seeking to purchase the Good Days Mine claims, an offer that was declined.
The company claims that after the talks collapsed, Pulserate turned to the courts relying on what Barrington describes as a flawed confirmation letter issued by the Marondera Provincial Mining Office.
According to Barrington, the letter dated 21 April 2022 was issued without a physical inspection of the mining ground and relied on altered registration documents that shifted coordinates by several hundred metres, creating an overlap with its claims.
“This letter is the source of the entire dispute,” Barrington said alleging that official records were manipulated to legitimise the takeover.
The complainant further alleges that Pulserate repeatedly cited the involvement of senior politicians during engagements with mining authorities, refusing to participate in provincial dispute resolution processes.
As a result, attempts by the Ministry of Mines’ provincial offices to mediate are said to have collapsed after Pulserate failed to attend three scheduled meetings.
The dispute has since spilled into the courts, a development Barrington argues has compounded the problem rather than resolved it.
The company says provincial mining officials had the authority to withdraw the disputed letter and conduct a fresh verification exercise but instead deferred the matter to the judiciary.
The allegations come as the country courts foreign investment in lithium mining with Chinese and other international firms pouring money into exploration and extraction projects across the country.
Analysts say disputes over mining titles and perceptions of political interference risk deterring serious investors.
Barrington has urged authorities to act swiftly warning that failure to address the dispute could set a damaging precedent for the rule of law and the protection of mining rights.
