This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
On July 17, 2019, Tanzania's Acacia Mining announced its intention to seek a stay of international arbitration proceedings against the Tanzanian government. The move comes just days before a scheduled hearing and two days before a deadline for a buyout proposal by Barrick Gold Corp.
Acacia has been locked in a dispute with the Tanzanian government over a $190 billion tax bill. The miner has also been fighting a bid by majority shareholder Barrick, which Acacia claims undervalues it.
According to Acacia, the Tanzanian government has issued a notice for the North Mara mine to prevent it from using its tailings storage facility due to alleged environmental breaches. Acacia has denied any wrongdoing and stated that it is seeking clarification on the matter.
Acacia's North Mara mine was previously issued with an Environmental Protection Order and fine in May 2019 for alleged deficiencies at a tailings storage facility. However, the miner claims that it has never received any reports that would justify the decision.
As the situation unfolds, Acacia has announced that it will be halting all further gold exports from its North Mara mine pending an impromptu government inspection of the mine's current production.
