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Zimbabwe has reversed plans to double its gold royalty rate to 10%, a new 2026 budget bill showed on Wednesday, following protests by miners and industry groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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\u2019s lower parliament chamber in the early hours of Wednesday following lengthy debate.<\/p>\n In 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Small-scale miners would continue to pay lower royalty rates of up to 2%, he added.<\/p>\n Large-scale miners such as Caledonia Mining Plc have warned that the proposed royalty hike would impact profitability at its 80,000 ounce-per-year Blanket mine in southern Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n Caledonia said the royalty increase and other changes to Zimbabwe\u2019s fiscal regime would also undermine plans to develop its $500 million Bilboes project, which is set to be Zimbabwe\u2019s biggest gold mine.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Industry groups had warned that the government\u2019s royalty hike would hurt efforts to attract investment and reposition Zimbabwe among Africa\u2019s top gold producers.<\/p>\n Gold has made its biggest jump since the 1979 oil crisis in 2025 \u2014 with prices doubling in the last two years \u2014 a performance which might previously have meant forecasts of a big correction.<\/p>\n Yet a growing investor pool and factors ranging from U.S. policy to war in Ukraine mean analysts at JP Morgan, Bank of America and consultancy Metals Focus now see bullion hitting $5,000 per troy ounce in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nGold forecast to glitter again next year<\/h2>\n