The puzzle of Barrick Gold mine versus community conflict

Tarime. On the night of January 17, more than 2,000 men armed with pangas, stones and hammers raided the North Mara Gold Mine in search of waste rock filled with tiny amounts of gold. In the ensuing battle with mine guards and police, one officer was injured and one of the intruders was killed.

If this story sounds familiar, that is because incidents like these have happened for years. African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation, has owned the mine since 2006. Right from the start, the firm has faced accusations of serious human rights violations, including environmental pollution, violence and sexual assault.

In the past three years alone, local police have killed 69 people, according to Councillor Wilson Mangure of Kemambo Ward. Hundreds more have been injured during the same period, says the councillor. “We’re still gathering information, but the killing is still going on,” he said. “Four people have been killed so far this year.”

Mr Justus Kamugisha, Commander of the Tarime Police Special Region, could not confirm the reports, though, saying he had no data just then on the casualties in the clashes at the mine.

“It would take me quite a long time to find those numbers,” Mr Kamugisha added. “There have been deaths in the past, but they occur only when criminals trespass or fight with police. Many policemen have been injured too.”

The problem stems from the mistaken idea that the gold belongs to the local community. “What they’re doing is illegal, the commander added. “It’s our duty as police to control the situation.”

North Mara Gold Mine is located in Tarime District in Mara Region, about 20 kilometres south of the Kenyan border. Visiting any of the seven villages in the neighbourhood, you do not have to venture too far away to find people who have been affected by the conflict.

My colleague and I shared the back seat of a taxi to these villages with a young man who announced, upon hearing that we were investigating the recent deaths at the mine, that his brother had also been shot and killed by police less than two years ago.

His brother, Ryoba Maseke, was only 24 when he died in July 2012. He was passing by the mine when he got caught up in a shoot-out between police and the hundreds--sometimes thousands--of men who scout the site in search of gold. “He was just visiting for a short while,” recalls their aunt, Susanna Mwita, “he came to borrow money for his school fees.” Maseke was hit in the head by a stray bullet and died on the spot.

Four people died that day, according to thr Maseke family. African Barrick Gold is being sued in the British Courts by other families after six of their relatives were killed at the gold mine and one man was left a paraplegic. The families are represented by British law firm Leigh Day.

Police are an “integral part” of the mine’s security and operate under an agreement with the company, according to the lawsuit. In Tarime, it is common to see them driving around in new trucks similar to those used at the mine.

African Barrick Gold recently tried to take the claimants to court in Tanzania, a move one High Court judge described as a “Tanzanian torpedo” because it appeared to be an attempt to undermine the case in Britain.

Documents released as part of this court case have led to an interesting outcome: It was recently announced that 14 women who were sexually assaulted by police and security guards at the mine would get cash payments and other forms of compensation.

Barrick investigated the cases itself and released its findings to Tarime police, according to the company’s press release. It remains unclear, though, whether any of the perpetrators will actually face justice.

In the meantime, many more families are still waiting for justice. Kibwaba Ghati was a cattle herder from Kewanja Village, one of those closest to the mine. He was 23 when he died while out tending cattle, leaving a wife and two children.

“My son never participated in the raids,” said Ghati’s mother, Wankrugati Malembela. “The police shoot wildly when they’re after intruders and my son got hit. They then took his body into the mine and took photos, claiming he was an intruder.”

The family complained to police but were told that Ghati was a criminal who was fighting the police. They then went to Barrick and began to follow the company’s grievance process but became discouraged when the process dragged on for months. The mine and the villagers have been in conflict since it opened in 2002. North Mara was developed by a subsidiary of Placer Dome, a Canadian mining company. Placer Dome was bought by Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold in 2006. The mining operations were then taken over by African Barrick Gold. “Some of the grievances Barrick is trying to handle were inherited from the mine’s previous owners,” says Jeremiah Minja, a land and natural resources officer in the district and the leader of a government task force overseeing the expansion of the mine site.

The problem stems in large part from the eviction of traditional miners in the area. Many of the artisanal miners did not have proper licences to work the land, according to Mr Minja. He adds: “Some of them just didn’t know the process, so there was a problem of ignorance. They thought that they owned the land. I spoke to one old man who told me his father had mined there since 1926. Others knew about the process, but didn’t want to pay the fees.”

When Afrika Mashariki Gold Mines, which became Placer Dome Tanzania, saw all the artisanal mining, they applied for a mining licence for the entire area. Those with proper licences within the area were bought out by the company but the majority--now rendered illegal--were simply kicked out. Many of those men, who were without work, turned to night raids.

Joshua Masyaga describes himself as an intruder for almost three years. It was a lucrative lifestyle but ultimately a very dangerous one. Born and raised in Nyamongo, he began entering the mine site in 2010 after finishing secondary school.

Police and mine officials say most of the intruders are not originally from the neighbouring villages. Masyaga says some of the intruders are not local but he does know the majority of those accused of intruding. It was hard for him to take it when the killing began. He adds: “So many people died. I saw my friends shot dead. Three of my closest friends died.”

It was after that, in 2012, that Masyaga decided to give up the life of an intruder at the mine. It was too dangerous to be a single intruder. The “profession” had to get organised. According to him, groups of intruders now have contacts among the mine workers and police. For a fee, certain mine workers alert the intruders on exactly when and where to go to get the best waste rock. Police get a cut to look the other way. In the meantime, police reportedly shoot and arrest everyone else so that they appear to be doing their job.

African Barrick Gold maintains that the conflict is between police and the thieves who try to steal from the mine. The conflict notwithstanding, Barrick has a positive relationship with the community, according to Gary Chapman, the general manager of North Mara Gold Mine.

The mine built a new high school in Nyamwaga Village worth Sh2.5 billion. The school was opened in January, at an event that Mama Maria Nyerere attended. The company has reportedly built other schools and is also helping repair a local hospital. It is also credited with repairing many village roads and has many projects to provide safe drinking water for communities through its development fund.

All of this has contributed to a good relationship with the community, according to African Barrick Gold spokesman Nector Foya. “We respect the human rights of everyone involved or affected by our business and we do not tolerate any breach of those rights,” she said.

The Tarime District Council is also happy with the help it is receiving from Barrick. There are a number of social services, most notably health and education facilities, that would not exist without the mine, according to Director Akalamu Athman.The Council also receives royalties and is in negotiations to raise the amount it gets from the North Mara mine.

But Tarime MP Nyambari Nyangwine is not impressed and believes that Barrick is still is not doing enough to help the community. “The situation is bad because they’re making a lot of money taking minerals from the land while the people of Tarime remain poor,” he says. “Right now, there are a few examples of community service, there’s the school, clinic and water projects. But it isn’t enough. They often invite me to launch their projects, but I refuse to go until they fulfil their commitments on water, health, electricity and education.”

Nyangwine remains offended by the number of deaths at the mine, but quickly adds that the situation continues to improve. “It used to be a lot worse,” he remarks. The mine is expected to be active for another 10 years.

In 2012, the mine produced 193,231 ounces of gold worth a little over US$320 million, given the year end gold price of US$1,657.5/oz. The price of gold has since dropped to US$1287/oz, but given that mining and processing the gold costs the company around US$739/oz, there is still a healthy profit to be made.

African Barrick is by far the largest gold producer in Tanzania, producing more than three per cent of gross domestic product. It is also Tanzania’s biggest private employer, with over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in its mines.

But Barrick is in the midst of a drastic cost-cutting campaign at its three Tanzanian mines. Expatriate staff has been cut from 550 to 300. It is also scaling back its administrative offices in the effort to save money.

The only area where the company is boosting staff is public, community and government relations.

Barrick has also decided to develop an underground mine in North Mara rather than expanding its pits, which will take up less land and should help to ease tensions in the area.

But whether the change in mining techniques, compensation and greater focus on community relations will be enough to put an end to the frequent clashes remains to be seen.

Amani Mustafa Mhinda, the founder and executive director of Haki Madini, an NGO that does advocacy work on mining, environmental and community issues, visited North Mara a little over a year ago. He says: “I spoke with Barrick staff and also to many people in the village. There has been some compensation for the violence and the sexual assaults. But a lot of people have not been given what they were promised. And they have never said they’re sorry. How do you compensate someone properly if you haven’t apologised and haven’t even admitted responsibility?”