Twiga leads extractive industry’s contribution to Tanzanian economy
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine, Tanzania – The Twiga partnership between Barrick Gold Corporation and the Tanzanian government is contributing 51% of the government’s revenue from the extractive industry, according to the latest report of the Tanzania Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. Twiga comprises the North Mara and Bulyanhulu gold mines.
Both mines also led the industry’s safety performance, with Bulyanhulu winning this year’s Occupational Safety and Health Award and North Mara named as the best company for caring for workers with special needs by Tanzania’s Occupational Safety and Health authority.
Speaking to the media and local stakeholders here today, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said ongoing brownfields exploration around its Bulyanhulu and North Mara mines continued to define additional opportunities to replace and expand depleted reserves, further supporting their life of mine flexibility. In addition, good progress had been made in defining new greenfield areas of interest with potential to add new mines to the company’s portfolio.
Bristow said the Barrick-Twiga Future Forward Education initiative had completed its first phase, with Barrick financing a $10 million infrastructure expansion at 64 schools, including the construction of 396 classrooms, 97 dormitories and 600 ablution blocks. The program’s second phase is planned to start in the fourth quarter of this year with another $10 million investment which will be followed by a further $10 million third phase.
Meanwhile the Barrick Academy, inaugurated at the beginning of the year by the Minister of Minerals at the closed Buzwagi mine, has already trained more than 1,000 foremen, supervisors and superintendents from across the company’s Africa and Middle East region. The Academy is on track to meet its target of training more than 2,000 people this year.
Bristow said in line with Barrick’s commitment to transparency, it had referred the latest in a series of allegations of human rights abuses at the North Mara Mine to the Tanzanian Commission of Human Rights and Good Governance. Following a site visit and investigation, the Commission has completed a report confirming that there was no evidence of human rights violations, refuting allegations made by certain international NGOs.
