Tanzania accuses Acacia of illegal mining in fresh blow to Barrick’s subsidiary

Shares in Acacia Mining (LON:ACA) collapsed Monday after the government of Tanzania accused the gold miner of operating illegally in the country and said it evaded taxes for years.

A second special committee appointed by Tanzania’s President John Magufuli found that Acacia, majority owned by Barrick Gold, the world’s largest producer of the precious metal, was not registered in the country.

It also alleged that Acacia has “under-declared” revenues and tax payments “over a number of years by tens of billions of US dollars,” local paper The Citizen reported.

As a result, the commission recommended that Tanzania demand the repayment of outstanding taxes, review the possibility of increasing government ownership of mines, and continue with an export ban on gold concentrate that was imposed on the company at the start of March.

The gold producer, which spun off from Barrick Gold in 2010, said in a statement it was disappointed at the findings, adding it “strongly refutes” the “new unfounded accusations.”

Acacia’s shares dropped as much as 15% and were still close to that low by the end of Monday in London, trading 13.7% lower at 259.8 pence by 4:00PM local time.

The fresh accusations come after another presidential team said in May it had found the value of minerals within raw concentrate at the port of Dar es Salaam to more than 10 times the declared amount. Acacia has also denied that accusation and said the finding contain “significant discrepancies.”

More to come…

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