Barrick Gold to give Tanzania mines stake and $300 million to end dispute – by Fumbuka Ng’wanakilala (Reuters U.K. – October 19, 2017)

https://uk.reuters.com/

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) – Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) will give Tanzania a 16 percent stake in three gold mines, a 50 percent share of revenues from those mines and a one-off payment of $300 million (£227.8 million) to resolve a dispute that has hit its operations in the country, the two sides said.

The Canadian miner and the Tanzanian government have been in talks for months after the east African country banned the export of unprocessed minerals and enacted laws to raise state ownership of the nation’s mines.

The agreement announced on Thursday comes after the new laws and a crackdown on mining firms slowed fresh investment in what has long been seen as one of Africa’s brightest mining prospects.

President John Magufuli, nicknamed the Bulldozer, has said the government’s approach was aimed at ending what he called years of corrupt practices and tax evasion that have robbed the country of revenue.

In March Tanzania banned the export of gold and cooper ore over a tax dispute with London-listed Acacia Mining (ACAA.L), which is majority-owned by Barrick Gold. The ban was part of a push for the construction of a local smelter to make the country’s gold exports more valuable.

For the rest of this article: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-barrick-gold-tanzania/barrick-gold-to-give-tanzania-mines-stake-and-300-million-to-end-dispute-idUKKBN1CO1MB