Barrick to appeal lost challenge over PNG mining rights
SINGAPORE - Barrick Gold Corp has lost a court challenge in Papua New Guinea over rights to a highlands gold mine and intends to appeal to the country's Supreme Court, the miner said on Tuesday, prolonging a dispute that has halted output as gold prices soar.
Papua New Guinea refused to extend Barrick's lease over the remote Porgera mine in April, and this week the National Court dismissed Barrick's request for a review of that decision.
"The company disagrees with numerous grounds outlined in the ruling," the miner said on Tuesday in a statement issued by Barrick Niugini Ltd, which operated Porgera as a joint-venture between Barrick and China's Zijin Mining Group.
Barrick Niugini "intends to urgently appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court," the statement said. It was not clear whether any appeal had yet been filed.
The dispute over the lease has stopped production at Porgera, which last year turned out nearly 600,000 ounces of gold. It comes at a time when investor nerves over the Covid-19 crisis has sent the gold price to a record high.
Both sides appear to be settling in for a protracted fight.
Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, James Marape, has said the lease was not extended owing to environmental and community concerns.
A new lease has been granted to Kumul Minerals Holding Ltd, a State-owned firm, he said in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Barrick has said it will challenge that move, too, and it has launched a separate complaint with the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ISO-certified Condra manufactures overhead cranes, portal cranes, cantilever cranes and crane components: hoists, drives, end-carriages, brakes and...
VISIT SHOWROOM
For over 60 years, VEGA has provided industry-leading products for the measurement of level, density, weight and pressure. As the inventor of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
