Barrick to give Tanzania stake in mines, $300 million to end dispute

Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) is giving Tanzania a 16% stake in three gold mines operated by its subsidiary Acacia Mining (LON: ACA) and a one-off payment of $300 million (£227.6 million) to resolve a dispute that has hit its operations in the African country.

“A partnership requires trust between the parties, and transparency is the currency of trust,” Barrick’s chairman John Thornton said in a statement. “Through our discussions over the last three months we have established both and this will form the basis of our relationship in the future.”

The deal does not mean Tanzania will immediately lift the demand for Acacia, in which Barrick has a 64% stake, to pay $190 billion in allegedly unpaid taxes. But the parties agreed to form a working group that will focus on the resolution of outstanding tax claims against Acacia, Barrick said.

The world’s largest gold producer and the Tanzanian government have been in talks for months aimed at resolving a dispute over an export ban that has Acacia, the country’s No.1 gold producer.

More to come… 

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