Barrick Gold Corporation plans to expand its East African footprint from its North Mara and Bulyanhulu gold mines, which are expected to produce more than 500,000 ounces combined for the second year in a row.
President and CEO Mark Bristow said at a local school near the North Mara Mine that the resurrection of these Moribund mines and their transformation into an asset with the potential for a combined complex to be included in Barrick’s elite Tier One portfolio was a remarkable success story.
Our pioneering Twiga collaboration with the Tanzanian government has established a model for mutually beneficial cooperation between miners and their host countries, particularly in Africa. It has also resolved long-standing concerns between Tanzania and the former operators of the mines.
It also bodes well for Tanzania’s mining industry’s future, he added, by proving that the country is an investor-friendly location.
Production has been increasing in North Mara and Bulyanhulu, with North Mara reaching a record 505,000 tonnes of ore and trash extracted in the most recent quarter. While switching to an owner-mining strategy has accelerated the expansion of both the mine and open pit operations, it continues to optimise the underground operation.
The primary declines to access the orebody’s Deep West zone at Bulyanhulu began to take shape last quarter. Fleet enhancements are helping both mines’ productivity to increase.
‘By doing research and combining essential licences, we continue to aim for greater growth. Opportunities for extension are being examined throughout the Bulyanhulu Inlier and along the Gokona Strike. Results from the deep drilling at Gokona point to a sizable possibility for extending the life of North Mara,’ according to Bristow.
