Officials and lawyers for Toronto-based Barrick and its North Mara subsidiary describe the mine as a site of routine conflict, requiring an extensive police presence in the villages surrounding it
is losing millions of dollars as a result of “illegal and dangerous incursions” by Tanzanian villagers who are often armed with spears and machetes, the company says.
They also disclosed details of an agreement under which Barrick’s subsidiary pays a daily fee to more than 150 Tanzanian police officers to provide security in areas as far as 20 kilometres from the company’s operations. Scores of villagers have been killed in conflicts around the North Mara mine over the past decade, including some allegedly slain by gunshots from the police. Since 2019, however, the company has been successful in reducing the number of “security incidents” at the mine, Mr. Lyambiko said.
“This mine site, because of the intruders, is effectively an armed encampment,” Barrick lawyer Kent Thomson told the Ontario court at an October hearing. “Illegal incursions at North Mara have resulted in millions of dollars of loss or damage, including in the form of lost ore, lost fuel and other supplies, and damage to equipment that is needed to carry on operations at the mine.”
Sebastiaan Bock, chief operating officer for Barrick companies in the Africa and Middle East region, said in testimony that the North Mara subsidiary pays a daily fee of 100,000 Tanzanian shillings for every police officer on duty each day, in addition to their regular wages.
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