Barrick Gold escalates dispute with PNG over Porgera mine

Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) has served a dispute notice to the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government over the country’s refusal to renew a licence for Porgera mine.

The world’s second-largest gold producer said in the document that PNG had violated a bilateral investment treaty with Australia, as well as international law governing foreign investment.

Barrick and its Chinese partner, Zijin Mining, temporarily halted operations at the mine in Enga Province late in April. The decision followed Prime Minister James Marape’s decision not to renew Porgera’s long-sought lease.

More to come…