Barrick Restarts Operations In Papua New Guinea Amid Challenges In Tanzania

Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD announced the restart of its operations at the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Barrick will share 49% of the new project with its Chinese partner, Zijin Mining Group.

"We look forward to steering the mine back to world-class production. It undoubtedly has the potential to join our Tier One gold mine portfolio, the largest of its kind in the industry," said Barrick's CEO Mark Bristow in a statement.

Restarting Production After Almost Four Years

The mine had been under care and maintenance since 2020, following a dispute with the PNG government over permit renewals and agreement renegotiations. The second-largest gold mine of the island nation is expected to produce 21 tonnes of gold per annum over the mine’s projected 20-year life.

The reopening of the Porgera mine is seen as a triumph for Barrick’s host-country partnership model, a strategy that proved successful in Tanzania and has been adopted for the Reko Diq copper and gold project in Pakistan. The equity in New Porgera is shared 51% by PNG stakeholders and 49% by Barrick Niugini Limited (BNL), a joint venture between Barrick and Chinese Zijin Mining Group.

Restarting this operation might provide a breather for Barrick, which recently underperformed the gold price. Two weeks before the year’s end, Barrick marked just 2.2% gains year-to-date, while gold itself rose by 11%.

Reopening in PNG aligns with Barrick’s broader strategic priority of expanding its copper production, with the Lumwana development and the ambitious Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Pakistan.

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Persistent Challenges In Tanzania

While Barrick celebrated the successful restart in PNG, it faces challenges in Tanzania, notably concerning the North Mara mine.

Since late 2022, MiningWatch Canada, an Ottawa-based non-governmental organization, has been warning that thousands of indigenous Kouria people have been driven from their homes.

"The eviction process has been intimidating, coercive, and sometimes violent and did not conform to human rights norms," MiningWatch research coordinator Catherine Coumans said in a press release.

"Villagers were prohibited from using their land to feed and support themselves long before they received any compensation. When the bulldozers came to destroy their homes, they had nowhere to go," she noted.

Earlier this year, Barrick addressed the controversy, stating that the company has not conducted forced evictions but that the government implemented a land purchase and compensation plan for more than 4,900 people. CEO Bristow called these allegations acts of speculators who "seek to pressure the company through external organizations that echo their unfounded claims."

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