A
royalty
rate
of
5%
would
continue
to
apply
for
gold
prices
between
$1,200
and
$5,000
per
ounce,
according
to
the
revised
budget
bill,
which
was
approved
by
Zimbabwe’s
lower
parliament
chamber
in
the
early
hours
of
Wednesday
following
lengthy
debate.
his
budget
speech
last
month,
Finance
Minister
Mthuli
Ncube
had
proposed doubling
the
gold
royalty rate
to
10%
for
gold
sold
above
$2,501
an
ounce.
During
the
late-night
budget
debate,
however,
he
told
lawmakers
that
a
10%
royalty
rate
would
now
only
apply
if
the
bullion
price
topped
$5,000
an
ounce.
Small-scale
miners
would
continue
to
pay
lower
royalty
rates
of
up
to
2%,
he
added.
miners
such
as
Caledonia
Mining
Plc (CALq.L),
opens
new
tab have
warned
that
the
proposed
royalty
hike
would
impact
profitability
at
its
80,000
ounce-per-year
Blanket
mine
in
southern
Zimbabwe.
Caledonia
said
the
royalty
increase
and
other
changes
to
Zimbabwe’s
fiscal
regime
would
also
undermine
plans
to
develop
its
$500
million
Bilboes
project,
which
is
set
to
be
Zimbabwe’s
biggest
gold
mine.
The
southern
African
nation
produced
42
metric
tons
of
gold
in
the
11
months
to
November
2025,
a
new
peak,
outpacing
the
previous
record
of
37
metric
tons
in
2024.
Industry
groups
had
warned
that
the
government’s
royalty
hike
would
hurt
efforts
to
attract
investment
and
reposition
Zimbabwe
among
Africa’s
top
gold
producers.