Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) said it would challenge the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government reported move to grant a 20-year lease for the Porgera gold mine to a state-backed firm.
The world’s second-largest gold producer and its Chinese partner, Zijin Mining, are embroiled in a dispute with Prime Minister James Marape, who in April rejected their application for a lease extension.
The companies temporarily halted operations in response. They also served Marape with a dispute notice arguing the refusal of the Porgera license extension violated a bilateral investment treaty between PNG and Australia.
The move, they said, also infringed international law governing foreign investment. Barrick said at the time that if the parties were unable to settle the row through negotiations, it would take PNG to international arbitration.
For the rest of this article: https://www.mining.com/barrick-to-fight-pngs-attempt-to-grant-porgera-lease-to-state-backed-miner/