The rocky relationship between the Tanzanian government and the biggest miner in the country, Acacia Mining, has taken a rather unpleasant turn this week after the company was fined $2.4 million for alleged pollution at its disputed North Mara mine. An environmental protection order (EPO) has also been issued against the company by the Tanzanian National Environment Management Council (NEMC), in relation to allegations of pollution from the mine’s tailings dam. “The North Mara gold mine has been given two weeks to pay the fine and three weeks to rectify the problem at its tailings storage facility,” Tanzania’s mining minister, Doto Biteko said. One of those incidents led to Acacia paying a fine of $130,148 in January. The Tanzanian gold producer also faced a threat of closure without notice from Minister Biteko in March over accusations of wastewater pollution at the mine.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 21, 2019 14:26 UTC