Barrick Gold and Tanzania reach agreement, govt to take stake in mines

Barrick Gold Corp Chairman of the board John Thornton looks on during their annual general meeting for shareholders in Toronto, April 28, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Barrick Gold has agreed that Tanzania will own a 16 percent stake in three gold mines operated by Barrick's Acacia Mining Plc, the company and a government minister announced on Thursday. Barrick Chairman John Thornton told a news conference in the Tanzanian capital that the company had also agreed to pay Tanzania $300 million as a show of good faith. The company and the government have been in talks for months aimed at resolving a dispute over an export ban which has hit Acacia Mining. (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; writing by Maggie Fick; editing by Jason Neely)