Barrick Gold Receives Special Mining Lease in Papua New Guinea

Barrick Gold, the Canadian mining major, has announced that it is set to resume operations at its site in Papua New Guinea after receiving a special mining lease from Governor General Bob Dabae. This approval has cleared the way for the New Porgera joint venture, in which Papua New Guinean stakeholders own a 51% stake and Barrick Niugini holds the remaining 49%, to restart production at the gold mine.

The Porgera mine has been under care and maintenance for the past three years. Now, with the granting of the mining lease, the next important step for the joint venture is to engage with the mine property's landowners in order to finalize compensation agreements. Barrick Gold's Chief Executive, Mark Bristow, has expressed confidence that a resolution on compensation can be reached in the coming week. Once these agreements are in place, the company plans to accelerate recruitment initiatives to quickly staff up for operations to ramp up before the end of this year.

This development signifies a positive outlook for Barrick Gold and the Porgera gold mine as they work towards resuming full-scale production. With careful negotiation and agreement on compensation, the company aims to bring the mine back online, benefiting both local stakeholders and Barrick Gold as a whole.