Notices of arbitration served in Tanzania – Acacia

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Notices of arbitration have been served in Tanzania on behalf of Bulyanhulu Gold Mine Limited (BGML) and Pangea Minerals Limited (PML), which hold Acacia Mining’s Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines.

Acacia said in a statement on Tuesday that the notices referred the current disputes between Tanzania’s government and each of BGML and PML to arbitration, which is in accordance with the dispute resolution processes agreed to by local government.

The company and its subsidiaries are in dispute with the Tanzanian government, after the Tanzanian government accused the gold miner of failing to pay billions of dollars in taxes. This follows after two Presidential committees determined that the company underdeclared its mineral exports.

Acacia, however, believes the committees overstated the value of concentrates it had exported.

“The serving of the notices is necessary to protect the company but, this notwithstanding, Acacia remains of the view that a negotiated resolution is the preferable outcome to the current disputes and the company will continue to work to achieve this,” it noted.

Government has also informed Acacia’s parent Barrick Gold that it wishes to continue their dialogue and, therefore, Acacia will not participate directly in these discussions when they start.

Any potential resolution that might be identified as a result of such discussions will be subject to approval by Acacia and the company will work with Barrick to support such discussions.