ACACIA'S TOP BRASS BOWS OUT

Acacia Mining Chief Executive Officer, Brad Gordon.

Acacia Mining Chief Executive Officer, Brad Gordon and Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Wray have resigned and will leave the company by the end of the year, the gold mining giant said yesterday.

It said it has appointed Peter Geleta, the Head of Organisational Effectiveness, as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Jaco Maritz, currently Acacia’s General Manager, Finance, to be Chief Financial Officer effective from January 1, 2018.

“Acacia would like to advise the market that Brad Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, and Andrew Wray, Chief Financial Officer, have separately notified the company of their intention to resign from their positions,” Both Brad and Andrew will remain with the company until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

According to the statement, Brad will be returning to Australia for family reasons, while Andrew is pursuing an opportunity elsewhere.

The resignations of Mr Gordon and Mr Wray came two weeks after Barrick Gold Corp, majority shareholders of Acacia Mining reached an agreement with the government to resolve tax and revenue sharing disputes over its three gold mines in the country.

Under the agreement which provides a framework for a new partnership between Acacia Mining and the government, Barrick agreed to cede 16 per cent of Acacia’s three mines in Tanzania and make a 300 million US dollars payment to the government as a gesture of good faith.

The partnership agreed that Barrick Gold would see economic benefits generated by Acacia Mining’s operations shared with Tanzania on a 50/50 basis going forward.

The framework outlining the necessary steps for achieving this outcome was signed in Dar es Salaam last month following a meeting between President John Magufuli and Barrick Gold Executive Chairman, John L. Thornton.

President Magufuli of Tanzania had refused to negotiate with Acacia or Mr Gordon, and was dealing exclusively with John Thornton, Barrick’s Executive Chairman.

Under the new partnership, a new Tanzanian operating company will be created to manage Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and North Mara, and all future operations in the country.

The principle of total transparency between partners will define how this company operates. For instance, the Government of Tanzania will participate in decisions related to operations, investment, planning, procurement, and marketing.

This company will maximise employment of Tanzanians, building local capacity at all levels of the business, from board membership to operations. It will also increase procurement of goods and services within Tanzania.

Barrick Gold has also committed to work with the Government of Tanzania to advance concepts for increasing in-country beneficiation of gold.

It increased Acacia Mining’s tax provision to accommodate the 300 million US dollars payment but Acacia said it did not intend to make any changes to its own provision of 128m US dollars as a result of Barrick’s announcement of an agreement of a proposed framework.

“Once Acacia has received and had the opportunity to assess a detailed proposal, Acacia will also be able to assess the potential impact on Acacia’s historical uncertain tax positions.”

Barrick Gold holds a 63.9 per cent equity interest in Acacia Mining, a publicly traded company listed on the London Stock Exchange and Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.

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