On Monday, TSX:ABX (New York Stock Exchange: GOLD)) confirmed that the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Malapper, had announced that he was about to reopen trading in the Porgera gold mine.
Malape refused to renew the mining licenses of the two companies after Barrick and its Chinese partner Zijin Mining got caught up in a dispute with the government of Papua New Guinea, a move that has been stalled for a year.
For this reason, the two companies temporarily suspended mine operations. They also provided Marape with a notice of dispute saying that the refusal to extend the license violated the bilateral investment treaty between Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea noted that Barrick (Barrick) had agreed to withdraw within 10 years, in exchange for other benefits including higher upfront taxes without tax increases, higher royalties and better treatment of environmental and resettlement issues.
Barrick said BNL would continue to operate the mine, adding that it would make a further statement once a final agreement was reached.
Porgera is an open-pit mine and underground gold mine in the province of Nga, Papua New Guinea, located about 600km (370 miles) northwest of Port Moresby.
Barrick and Zijin both own 47.5 per cent of the mine, with the remaining 5 per cent owned by the Enga provincial government and landowners.
Before maintenance and maintenance, Porgera produced about 600000 ounces of gold in 2019.
