Not registered? • Double taxation impeding investment • Mining critical to government revenue Copper mining companies in Zambia, Africa's second-largest producer of copper after the Democratic Republic of Congo, are at odds with the record prices of copper, which have brought them significantly higher royalty bills than previously under the country's current tax regime. The London Metal Exchange three-month copper price was trading at $10,406.50/mt ($4.72/lb) as of 1552 GMT, while on May 10, the LME 3M copper price hit a record high of $10,747.50/mt. A year ago, after the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the price stood at $5,249/mt. Zambia uses a sliding scale to determine its mining royalty rate for copper, linked to the prevailing international copper price. The scale is adjusted in that royalties are paid at higher levels as commodity prices climb and are reduced as prices fall, starting at the minimum threshold of 5.5% when the copper price is less than $4,500/mt, rising to 10% when the copper price is $9,000/mt or higher. This means that copper mining companies are currently paying the maximum threshold for mining royalties.