The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that a wave of African tax hikes is engulfing some of Canada's mining companies. The Globe's Niall McGee and Geoffrey York write that First Quantum Minerals has been hit with a massive tax bill. Zambian authorities have told it to pay an extra $8-billion (U.S.) in taxes and penalties for failing to pay proper duties on imported supplies over the past five years. First Quantum boss Philip Pascall admitted on Wednesday he had been blindsided by the shock announcement. The amount of First Quantum's tax bill is huge -- larger than Zambia's entire annual government budget. Barrick Gold's subsidiary, Acacia Mining, was handed an astonishing tax bill of $190-billion (U.S.) in Tanzania last year. That amount is four times greater than Tanzania's entire annual GDP. Barrick responded by promising that Acacia would pay $300-million (U.S.) to Tanzania, along with a new benefits-sharing arrangement that would include a 16-per-cent government interest in Acacia's gold mines in the country. The Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this year announced a sharp increase in mineral royalties and the elimination of agreements that protected miners from tax hikes.