Kibali's $500m will be cleared to leave Congo 'very soon' - Barrick CEO
JOHANNESBURG - Barrick Gold's Kibali gold mining joint venture in Democratic Republic of Congo will be able to get $500-million out of the country very soon, CEO Mark Bristow told Reuters on Monday.
The gold miner has been in discussions with Congo's government over how to get the money out of the country for months. A resolution was close in January, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Bristow said in a telephone interview.
Bristow said he expected the cash to be cleared for exit "very soon", declining to give a specific timeline, after intensive discussions with the central bank, the mines minister, and the prime minister.
Under Congo's 2018 mining code, miners must repatriate 60% of revenue from mineral sales back into the Congo, to help develop Congo's economy.
The $500-million is the excess left over after Kibali repatriated 60% of revenue and paid all its in-country expenses, Bristow said.
Barrick needs the $500-million in order to pay back loans and dividends, Bristow said. AngloGold Ashanti, which owns 45% of Kibali, is entitled to half the money after dividends are paid, he said.
AngloGold Ashanti declined to comment, referring Reuters back to Barrick.
In May, Bristow had said the issue of the $500-million "keeps us awake at night".
Barrick's push to get the money out comes as Congo's economy is under significant strain from the pandemic, with foreign currency reserves shrinking and mining companies taking longer to repatriate the 60% of mineral sales.
"Unfortunately, we have noted that repatriation of the 60% is currently erratic," mines minister Willy Kitobo Samsoni told Reuters, adding he had warned mining companies to repatriate that capital immediately, or risk sanctions as set out in the mining code.
Delayed repatriation of funds is among the pressures facing the mining sector, a critical contributor to Congo's economy, Samsoni said on Saturday.
Comments
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