By Osoro Nyawangah, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania
Barrick’s North Mara and Bulyanhulu gold mines have sustained their strong performance and achieved their production guidance for 2023.
The mines are part of Twiga
Minerals, a joint venture between Barrick and the Government of Tanzania.
Speaking to media here on
Sunday, President and CEO, Mark Bristow said the transformation of two derelict
mines into a world-class complex which, on a combined basis, produce gold at a
Tier One level, shows what could be achieved when mining companies and
their host governments partner to deliver real value to their stakeholders.
“The Twiga partnership has not
only transformed Tanzania’s gold mining industry, it has also re-established
the country, well-known as one Africa’s most popular tourism attractions, as a
prime investment destination that has a wealth of metal and mineral resources,”
Bristow said.
Conversion drilling at both mines has again replenished their reserves after
depletion.
At North Mara, the potential
for another underground operation is being explored while the optimization of
its open cast mine plan is expected to add years to its life. At
Bulyanhulu, there are near-surface opportunities with the potential for increasing
production and mining flexibility.
Bristow said since Barrick
took over the Tanzanian mines in 2019, they had grown into the largest
contributor to the government’s revenue, through taxes, employment, payments to
local suppliers, community projects and distributions to shareholders.
Its investment in the economy to date totals more than $3.4 billion (on a 100%
basis).
“Perhaps even more important,
these mines are now widely respected as value-adding partners and community
members. Among the many accolades they have received, Barrick Tanzania
has been certified as a Top Employer by the global Top Employer Institute for
its people management programs while locally, the Association of Tanzania
Employers (ATE) crowned Barrick North Mara as the 2023 employer of the year and
the company with the best social responsibility program. He said.
In the health and safety
arena, the CEO said that North Mara won the 2023 OSHA Compliance award with
Bulyanhulu as first runner-up, and Bulyanhulu also received an award for
excellence in crisis management.
Both mines have been lauded by
the Tanzanian Government and Civil Society Organizations for their contribution
to the fight against violence against women and children,” he said.
The first phase of Twiga’s $30
million Future Forward education initiative is nearing completion. The
program will significantly improve Tanzania’s educational infrastructure by
delivering classrooms, dormitories and washroom facilities for an additional
49,000 pupils.
Twiga is also progressing its
$40 million pledge to build a world-class 73-kilometre road to the Kahama
airport. As part of the Buzwagi mine closure plan and to improve the
transportation system in the area, Barrick’s Buzwagi gold mine in partnership
with the Tanzanian Airport Authority funded the building of a new terminal at
the Kahama airport.
The new airport terminal
building will serve more than 200 passengers at a time and has a full range of
facilities. It is expected to be a catalyst for economic growth in the
Kahama region.
In the meantime, the
rehabilitation of the closed Buzwagi mine is continuing with the ultimate aim
of creating the foundation for a Special Economic Zone.
“Barrick has made an enormous
difference for the better on every front in Tanzania. The success of the
partnership model we pioneered here represents, I believe, the future of
mining, particularly in developing countries. We have also applied this
model to the reconstituted Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea and the Reko Diq
copper-gold project in Pakistan,” Bristow said.
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