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Sidelined in Mali, Barrick turns Tanzania mine into ‘armed encampment’

Barrick has been accused of human rights abuses at its North Mara gold mine in Tanzania

AfricaCanadian BusinessHuman Rights

Barrick Gold’s North Mara gold mine in Tanzania. Photo by Twiga Minerals/Instagram.

Three months ago, Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold received some good news. A case filed against the company by Tanzanian villagers, alleging Barrick’s complicity in extrajudicial killings by mine security, had been tossed out by an Ontario court. It was the third case brought against Barrick in ten years on the same issue: alleged company involvement in the maiming and killing of Indigenous Kuria peoples by security forces at the North Mara gold mine.

The previous two cases against Barrick were settled out of court in 2015 and 2024. Of these outcomes, MiningWatch Canada’s Catherine Coumans stated, “It is simply incomprehensible that a major Canadian company like Barrick seems to prefer settling lawsuits on behalf of victims of alleged excess use of force, rather than to take effective steps to stop the violence.”

This time, the court asserted that it did not have jurisdiction to try Barrick for alleged abuses committed in Tanzania, invoking a common-law doctrine known as forum non conveniens. This refers to a court’s discretionary power to decline to exercise its jurisdiction over a lawsuit on the basis that a court or forum in another jurisdiction is more suitable. As a result of forum non conveniens, “lawsuits filed in Canada by foreign plaintiffs alleging wrongdoings by Canadian companies have been dismissed and sent back to languish or die a quick death in the plaintiffs’ home countries.”

In the past, plaintiffs have filed successful appeals against such rulings and won—for example, in a case brought against Canada’s Tahoe Resources by villagers in Guatemala. In 2015, a Canadian court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to try the Canadian company for “negligence and battery” at the hands of mine security, but two years later, a BC Court of Appeal overturned the decision, arguing that the plaintiffs would not receive a fair trial in their home country.

Writing in The Narwhal, freelance journalist Andrew Findlay described the 2017 ruling as “a shot across the bow of corporate Canada, warning companies that when it comes to overseas operations, they can no longer pawn off responsibility for human rights violations to in-country subsidiaries.”

The Tanzanian plaintiffs, who allege “acts of extreme violence” by mine security including deaths, beatings, and torture, have filed an appeal. For the moment, however, Canada’s judicial system has ensured the company won’t be tried for alleged complicity in the abuse and killing of Tanzanians, at least not on Canadian soil.

In response to the ruling, Barrick said, “This case should never have been brought in Canada. We are proud of Barrick’s substantial contributions to the local communities in the vicinity of the North Mara mine, who continue to be supportive of our operations.”

In West Africa, meanwhile, Barrick’s operations have faltered due to a clash with Mali’s military government. The Malian state has arrested Barrick employees and even issued a warrant for the company’s CEO, Mark Bristow, for alleged money laundering and violations of Mali’s financial regulations. These actions have attracted much attention from the transnational mining industry.

Despite setbacks in West Africa, Barrick’s maintains a significant footprint in Tanzania, and the Canadian judicial system and federal government appear committed to backing the company against possible threats to its foreign operations.

Between 2006 and 2023, 77 villagers were killed by mine security or Tanzanian police at North Mara. Despite the bloodshed and legal challenges by locals, Barrick has stepped up the militarization of its mine site. Last week, a lawyer for Barrick asserted that the North Mara mine has been turned into an “armed encampment.” Documents released as a result of the recently dismissed lawsuit show that Barrick directly pays “more than 150” Tanzanian police officers to patrol a 20-kilometre area around the mine containing 11 villages. The company “provides daily payments, vehicles, fuel, equipment and food for the police.” Barrick funds repairs and maintenance for police vehicles, built a barracks for Tanzanian security forces, and supplements the daily wages of police officers.

Ottawa has a history of intervening in Tanzania on behalf of transnational business. In the 1980s, the Canadian government allegedly threatened to withhold food aid to Tanzania if the government did not adopt a suite of privatization measures designed by the International Monetary Fund. Similar pressures were applied throughout the 1990s.

In 2017, the Trudeau government pressured Tanzania to halt a potential ban on gold concentrate exports that would have impacted Barrick’s operations. Barrick appealed directly to Ottawa for help, and the government delivered, providing Barrick with “very useful suggestions” (in the words of the company’s vice-president Dave Forestell). The Canadian High Commissioner in Tanzania later met with the Tanzanian mining minister and “urged [him] to lift the export ban.” During the meeting, the Canadian official “also emphasized Canada’s foreign aid to Tanzania,” an apparent threat to withhold humanitarian support if it did not accede to Ottawa’s demands. The export ban was lifted in January 2020.

The Trudeau government also assisted Barrick through the delayed creation and subsequent defanging of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). Created in 2019 with a mandate to investigate Canadian companies for abuses committed abroad, the CORE has proven unable to compel companies to testify or hand over documents. Once the toothlessness of the watchdog became clear, all fourteen of the union and NGO representatives advising on CORE’s work resigned.

While Barrick faces an intense challenge from the Malian government, the company is unlikely to relinquish its investments on the continent. And, as last year’s court decision shows, Canada’s government and judicial system appear committed to protecting the overseas operations of Canadian mining firms, no matter how severe the allegations against them.

Owen Schalk is a writer from rural Manitoba. He is the author of Canada in Afghanistan: A story of military, diplomatic, political and media failure, 2003-2023 and the co-author of Canada’s Long Fight Against Democracy with Yves Engler.

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