Zimbabwe to hike royalties on gold producers to cash in on recent record prices

Zimbabwe will hike royalties on gold producers as it moves to take advantage of recent record-high bullion prices, a 2026 national budget speech showed on Thursday.

As part of a raft of revenue measures aimed at boosting state income and supporting local industry, gold miners will pay a 10% royalty if prices exceed $2,501 per ounce, according to the document.

Bullion has fallen 5% since hitting a record-high of $4,381.21 on October 20, but has broadly traded above $4,000 an ounce.

"In order to ensure the mining sector contributes a fair share of revenue to the Fiscus during periods of commodity price boom, as well as eliminate arbitrage between categories of miners, I propose to harmonise and review the royalty structure for all gold producers," Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube was quoted as saying in the speech.

Relies heavily on gold

Zimbabwe largely relies on gold and tobacco exports for foreign exchange.

Its biggest gold producers include Kuvimba Mining House, Padenga, Caledonia Mining Corporation and Rio Zim.