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.