Barrick Gold Corp. Chairman John Thornton met Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Wednesday and said his company is willing to pay money owed to the East African nation.
Shares in subsidiary Acacia Mining Plc surged as much as 11 percent.
“Thornton said his company is ready to hold talks with Tanzania that will consider the interests of both sides and is ready to pay all the money it’s expected to pay Tanzania,” Magufuli’s office said in an emailed statement from Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital.
The meeting took place two days after the Tanzanian leader accused Acacia Mining of operating illegally and demanded it pay unpaid taxes. The accusation came after a committee carried out an audit of the country’s mineral exports over the past 19 years.
Barrick, which owns 64 percent of Acacia, will help Tanzania build a smelter, according to the presidency’s statement.
Giles Blackham, a spokesman for Acacia Mining, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.