Barrick Gold to hold talks with Tanzania over export row

Barrick Gold's chairman and Tanzania's president met today and agreed to hold talks aimed at resolving an escalating dispute over an export ban that has hit Barrick's Acacia Mining.

Shares in Acacia, 63.9 percent owned by Barrick, jumped as much as 11 percent, to 303 pence, after the news and closed 5.5 percent higher, outpacing sector rivals.

Tanzania is Africa's fourth-largest gold producer, and Acacia its largest miner, with three gold mines that also produce copper in the East African country.

Acacia's market value has nearly halved to about $1.4 billion since Tanzania banned the export of unprocessed ore in March, part of a push for the construction of a local smelter to make the country's gold exports more valuable.

"I feel very optimistic that we will reach a resolution which is a win-win," Barrick Chairman John Thornton said after meeting Tanzanian President John Magufuli. ...

... For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/article/tanzania-acac...a-idUSL8N1JB1YR

* * *