Barrick Gold has signed a deal to settle a long-running tax dispute between the Government of Tanzania (GoT) and mining group Acacia, which was acquired by Barrick in a $1.2bn buy-out deal approved by a British court last month.
As part of the agreement, Barrick will pay $300m to the Tanzanian Government to end the dispute, which according to the company, destroyed the value of the assets of its subsidiary Acacia Mining.
The agreement also included the lifting of a concentrate export ban.
Additionally, Barrick agreed to share the future economic benefits from the mines equally.
The final agreements will be reviewed and legalised by the Tanzanian Attorney General.
Tanzania will get a 16% stake in each of the Bulyanhulu, North Mara and Buzwagi mines, which will be managed by a new operating company called Twiga Minerals to be formed following the review.
Twiga Minerals will be headquartered in Mwanza, Tanzania.
Barrick Gold president and CEO Mark Bristow said: “Rebuilding these operations after three years of value destruction will require a lot of work, but the progress we’ve already made will be greatly accelerated by this agreement.
“Twiga, which will give the government full visibility of and participation in operating decisions made for and by the mines, represents our new partnership not only in spirit but also in practice.”
Since the takeover of Acacia minorities, Barrick has been in the process of negotiating the re-opening of North Mara.
In July, Barrick Gold signed an agreement to acquire a stake in Acacia Mining.
