BARRICK Gold had not engaged its 64.9%-owned African miner Acacia Mining in discussions about “a private deal”, but it acknowledged that separate discussions with the Tanzanian government regarding a tax dispute involving Acacia “had slowed”.
“I can’t comment on what may or may not happen,” said Kevin Thompson, head of strategic matters for the Canadian gold mining firm in response to an analyst question in the firm’s third quarter results presentation today. This was regarding media speculation Barrick was thinking of buying back Acacia, which is listed in the UK. “I can say we have had no discussions about a potential private transaction,” he said.
Mark Bristow, CEO of Randgold Resources, told Miningmx on October 1 that he was interested in Tanzania as an investment destination for his company. “Would we, as Randgold, go into Tanzania? Absolutely. Have we engaged with the government of Tanzania as Randgold? Yes, we have,” he said.
Barrick was reticent to discuss the status of talks between itself and the Tanzanian government in respect of the tax dispute with Acacia. “I would love to get into specifics, but I can’t do that,” said Thompson in response to an analyst’s question.
“Discussions are on-going with the government. Discussions have slowed down, but they are ongoing and we are optimistic,” he said. Thompson said he couldn’t provide a timeline on when a settlement with the Tanzanian government might be complete.
Acacia said in an announcement this week that a third employee had been charged by the local authorities in relation to a joint venture company between the Tanzanian government and the company created to deal with property transactions.
It said that it was “… deeply concerned about the increasing risks to the safety and security of its people given the criminal charges being brought by the Government of Tanzania. The company believes that these recent actions represent a significant escalation of governmental pressure”.
It added it was seeking clarity from Barrick on the nature of resolution talks between it and President John Magufuli’s government which said earlier this week that it was fighting a war in its minerals industry – a reference to allegations Acacia had not paid sufficient tax for up to two decades.
