Zambia has started receiving mining royalties and taxes in renminbi from Chinese mine operators, shifting part of a key government revenue stream from a dollar-only constraint into a dual-currency channel tied to copper exports to China.
Payments using yuan began in October, the Bank of Zambia said, claiming it is the first African authority to confirm it is accepting mining-tax payments in renminbi.
The framework builds on Zambia’s earlier foreign-exchange capture rules that routed mining-related tax flows through the central bank, including the October 2018 move to have mineral royalties paid to the Bank of Zambia in US dollars.
Under the updated approach, mine operators can sell either dollars or renminbi to the Bank of Zambia to make tax payments, with mining taxes remitted through the sale of foreign currency at the Bank of Zambia’s published kwacha-to-US dollar mid rate or kwacha-to-Chinese renminbi mid rate.
The Bank of Zambia linked practical demand for renminbi to trade settlement, saying “a large portion of copper exports go to China” and Chinese mining firms already receive “some, if not all” export proceeds in renminbi. 
The central bank also framed renminbi buying as reserve diversification, and said holding part of reserves in renminbi would help Zambia service debts to China “in a more cost-effective manner.” 
In Zambia’s copper sector, First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Mining accounted for about two-thirds of 2024 copper output, while China Nonferrous Mining and other Chinese operators are spending “billions of dollars” to lift production.
The policy change lands as copper prices head into year-end with their strongest annual gain since 2009, reinforcing the stakes around how Zambia captures and manages mining-linked hard-currency flows.
The Zambia development sits inside a broader push to widen renminbi usage abroad, including efforts around the digital yuan. China’s central bank is launching a new system for the measurement, operation and management of the digital yuan starting January 1, upgrading the e-CNY from a cash equivalent toward “digital deposit money” that can accrue interest and operate more like account-based deposit balances. 
Chinese officials and bank executives have positioned the upgrade as an efficiency play that keeps central-bank oversight, contrasting with privately issued stablecoins. The US stablecoin framework law referenced in this context is dated to July, while China’s central bank has continued warning about stablecoin-related risks.
As of end-November 2025, the digital yuan had processed 3.48 billion transactions with cumulative value of 16.7 trillion yuan, and Project mBridge had processed 387.2 billion yuan of transactions with the digital yuan accounting for 95.3% by value.
Information for this briefing was found via Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
