Barrick Gold's North Mara gold mine in Tanzania has been refurbished and attained its permitted design capacity by the end of 2021.
Barrick took over the mine in September 2019 from Acacia Mining. At the time, the Tanzanian government's National Environment Management Council had closed down the tailings facility due to the unit holding more water than it should.
Barrick spent more than US$65 million to increase the water treatment plant's capacity from 2.5 million litres per day to 40 million litres per day.
Barrick has also added a brine treatment plant, which has reduced the volume of salts in the effluent water. The water can now be stored safely.
The North Mara mine will continue to monitor the tailings facility's performance and will engage regularly with government authorities, Barrick said.
