BARRICK Gold said it had restored the tailings storage facility (TSF) pond at the North Mara mine in Tanzania to within its permitted design capacity.
The $65m project was completed in December in line with Barrick’s commitment to the Tanzanian government to improve environmental protection standards at the mine. North Mara, along with Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi in Tanzania are held in a 50/50 joint venture with the East African country’s government.
The project included increasing the capacity at the facility’s water treatment plant 16-fold from 2.5 million litres per day to 40 million litres per day.
“When we took over the old Acacia assets in Tanzania, we formed a partnership with the government to oversee these mines,” said Willem Jacobs, chief operating officer for Africa and the Middle East at Barrick Gold.
Barrick assumed control over the assets following the takeover of Acacia Mining in 2019. At the time, Tanzania’s National Environment Management Council had closed down the TSF, then holding significantly more water than it should.
“The real benefits of this partnership included the swift resumption of operations at North Mara and the revitalisation of the moribund Bulyanhulu, now both valuable members of the Barrick portfolio,” said Jacobs.
“This latest development is further proof of our partnership philosophy’s capacity to deliver real benefits and our commitment to caring for the welfare and environment of our host communities,” he said.
