GOLD Barrick Gold Corporation

By Oliver Griffin

Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX.T) and the government of Tanzania have reached a proposal to resolve outstanding disputes over Acacia Mining PLC's (ACA.LN) operations in the country.

Acacia Mining has been locked in a series of disputes in Tanzania, which in 2017 banned Acacia's exports and served the company with a $190 billion bill for what the government said were unpaid taxes, penalties and interest accumulated over the past 17 years.

In October last year, Acacia said two current and one former employee were arrested and charged by Tanzanian authorities with counts including tax evasion, forgery and money-laundering.

In December, the company was reported to be under investigation by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office regarding its dealings in Tanzania.

The Canadian gold miner is the majority owner of Acacia Mining with a 64% stake in the company, on behalf of which it has been negotiating with the Tanzanian government.

Barrick said Wednesday that the framework proposed to Tanzania's government includes the creation of a local operating company to manage Acacia's operations in the country, while economic benefits would be shared evenly between the company and the government.

The Tanzanian government's share of economic benefits would be in the form of royalties, taxes and a 16% free-carry interest in the Tanzanian operations.

Additionally, $300 million would be paid to the government to resolve outstanding tax claims, Barrick Gold said.

Barrick President and Chief Executive Mark Bristow, who took the helm after the Canadian company bought rival Randgold Resources, said the agreement would benefit Acacia Mining's "long-suffering investors."

Mr. Bristow said: "Significant amounts of real value have been destroyed by this dispute and, in Barrick's view, this proposal will allow the business to focus on rebuilding its mining operations in partnership with their respective stakeholders."

Acacia Mining said it hasn't received any proposal from Barrick regarding a comprehensive resolution to its disputes with the government of Tanzania.

Acacia Mining shares at 1210 GMT were up 6.6% at 239.80 pence.

Write to Oliver Griffin at oliver.griffin@dowjones.com; @OliGGriffin

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 20, 2019 07:41 ET (12:41 GMT)

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