Papua New Guinea has threatened to take control of a gold mine operated by Barrick Gold in the country after Barrick’s local unit suspended operations at the weekend following news the mine’s lease would not be renewed.
Barrick, one of the world’s biggest gold miners, had applied for a twenty-year lease renewal with its joint venture partner, China’s Zijin Mining, of the Porgera gold mine which Papua New Guinea rejected on Friday.
The Toronto-listed company had run into opposition from Papua New Guinea landowners and residents. Critics say the Porgera mine has polluted the water supply and created other environmental and social problems, with minimal economic returns for locals.