Acacia Mining plc (formerly African Barrick Gold plc) is Tanzania's largest gold producer and one of the five largest gold producers in Africa. It has four mines, all located in Northwest Tanzania, and several exploration projects at various stages of development in Tanzania and Kenya. It has a high-quality asset base, solid growth opportunities and a clear strategy of: * driving operating efficiencies to optimise production from our existing asset base; * growing through near mine expansion and development of advanced-stage projects; and * organic greenfield growth and acquisitions in Africa.

Links...
Company Web Sitehttp://www.acaciamining.com/

Company Calendar http://www.acaciamining.com/investors/financial-calendar.aspx

Former Thread as African Barrick Gold http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=14880#lastread thanks to Harry for giving go ahead to swap to new name.

19:03 yesterday (friday)
Acacia Mining Plc said on Friday it was in early talks about a possible merger with Canadian gold miner Endeavour Mining Corp .

Acacia, which operates mines and exploration projects in Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Mali, was responding to media reports. ...
The company added that there was no certainty of a deal.

Endeavour also confirmed preliminary discussions had taken place with Acacia. ...

Acacia had a market value of 1.72 billion pounds ($2.10 billion) as of Jan. 12, while Endeavour had a market value of C$ 2.18 billion ($1.66 billion).

Endeavour bought True Gold Mining Inc for about C$240 million in March, giving it access to a low-cost gold mine in Burkina Faso. ...

======================

which is the target?

All very strange indeed .... no wonder sp collapsed



Response to the Ministry of Energy and Minerals press release regarding the
export of metallic mineral concentrates

Acacia notes today’s press release from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals
regarding a ban on exports of gold/copper concentrate following a directive
made by the President of the United Republic of Tanzania. In 2016, gold/copper
concentrate amounted to approximately 30% of group revenues. At this stage,
Acacia has ceased exports of gold/copper concentrate and is urgently seeking
further clarification from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals. We will
provide further updates as appropriate.

this stock continues to be hammered due to the Tanzanian sudden embargo on exporting gold and iron ore, and the potential merger with Endeavour Mining which must also be delayed or even at risk

nevertheless, at some point (no ideas where) the shares will start to be serious value, though of course there will need to be some reflection of the underlying bullion price and it's immediate prospects

the 5-year chart below indicates that sp could fall another 100p before it hits real support
however, i recollect that when sp started to rise sharply, it was following the announcement of the discovery of further large reserves, or somesuch ..... i'm too lazy and busy to check that at the moment

Looking through the Reuters press releases over the last six months, Tanzania seems to be in economic turmoil and finding it very hard to stamp out corruption and tax evasion. I think that things are going to get worse before they get better, judging by the amount of negative news outflow.

Just a sample:
Reuters - Feb 2 Tanzanian President John Magufuli vowed on Thursday to toughen up a crackdown on tax evasion by big businesses including mining companies as the east African nation moves to boost domestic revenues.

Africa's fourth-largest gold producer, Tanzania also has vast deposits of natural gas, coal, diamonds, uranium and gemstones.

While addressing members of the judiciary in Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam, Magufuli ordered the courts to enforce payment of tax claims worth more than 7.5 trillion Tanzanian shillings from big firms.

Magufuli launched a crackdown on graft and tax evasion when he took office in 2015 and has sacked dozens of senior public officials. Some businesses, though, say they have been unfairly hit with high tax bills.

Big firms are the main source of tax revenue for the government because Tanzania has a large informal economy that goes untaxed.

"It is unacceptable that an investor is extracting our minerals but doesn't pay taxes. That investor was taken to court and lost both the case and the appeal, yet still refuses to pay the taxes," Magufuli said.

He said that 7.5 trillion Tanzanian shillings worth of taxes were still unpaid by various firms even after the government won tax claim cases against them in courts and that this was hurting the east African nation's economy.

Magufuli asked Tanzania's judiciary to help stem corruption in the country, saying it was denying citizens access to justice.

"Some 28 magistrates were prosecuted (in Tanzania) last year for various criminal offences, mostly corruption, but all 28 of them were acquitted," said Magufuli.

"It is hard to believe that all 28 of them were absolutely not guilty."

Businesses in Tanzania often cite widespread corruption as one of the biggest obstacles to investment in the country. (Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Hugh Lawson)

Sorry to say Jefferies paint a pretty gloomy picture:
"While the direct impact is clear, it is more than just greater uncertainty driving today's downgrade. Our past investment case and bullish view on the shares rested on several factors including growing FCF, higher shareholder returns, strengthened in-country relations and catalysts for a lowering of the ABX stake. All of which have now been negatively impacted, making the argument for a valuation re-rating much harder to justify.

The mid-January announcement of preliminary discussions with Endeavour Mining was a positive for the shares that, along with solid Q4 results, drove more than 20% outperformance vs UK peers through closing on Thursday. In our opinion, with a spike in jurisdictional risk in Tanzania, merger discussions with Endeavour are at the very least going to be delayed. This removes a key catalyst that was likely to have lowered ABX's stake and improve free float and liquidity.

At this point, we have cut 2017 estimates significantly to reflect the impacted volumes. EBITDA is reduced by 28% and stockpiled material drives working capital higher, weighing on FCF. Previous forecasts for high single-digit FCF yield in 2017 are now breakeven and the net cash balance shrinks by $14m YoY. We do believe the likely outcome is that ACA will be able to resume exporting but expect negotiations to be protracted."

exceedingly glad i banked all of mine about 10 days ago, purely because the gold price was looking soggy

re - glad i banked all of mine about 10 days ago

All lies as usual

If it goes up I bought... yesterday

If it goes down... I sold last week, 10 days ago etc.

the biggest liar in town some say and I agree.

note - naturally forgot to tell the board though has been posting many times since

you're right i lied ......
i actually sold on 1st march at 535.5 at just before 09:00

quite surprised you did not pick that up from my post on advfn where i know you follow me

you really are such a total and unremitting arsehole

Acacia Mining plc shares plummet on Tanzanian Government’s Report claiming irregularities in declared mineral-value

May 24, 2017

Acacia Mining plc (LON:ACA), a London-headquartered gold-mining company with operations in Africa, saw shares plummet nearly 30% this Wednesday following Tanzanian government’s claims that ACA’s containers carrying concentrates at the Dar es Salaam port had nearly 10 times the declared mineral-value by the company.

Acacia’s all three producing mines — Bulyanhulu, Buzwagi and North Mara — are located in north-west Tanzania; however, only the former two are involved in producing the concentrate, which is facing an export ban.

On 3rd March, Tanzanian authorities had issued a directive that prohibited Acacia’s export of gold/copper concentrate, which accounted for 30% of the company-revenue in 2016. The company said it’s taking a US$1 million hit per day to the top-line due to the same.

“During April we will reassess how long we can continue to produce as normal if the ban remains in place and what other measures may be necessary”, said Acacia in response to the directive then.

Due to the ban, ACA could not sell 34,926 ounces of gold, limiting sales to 184,744 during the first quarter of 2017, nearly same as the year-ago-quarter despite a 15% jump in production.

Tanzania formed a presidential committee to investigate ACA’s concentrate after the March-ban by the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, limiting exports from ACA’s Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi mines.

Although ACA’s has asked for the full report after the committee announced its findings to the president, Dr. John P. Magufuli, in a public presentation earlier today, the situation seems to have worsened. For the foreseeable future, ACA would continue to experience a substantial contraction in its top-line, which analysts were expecting would see low-single-digit growth in 2017.

12 June 2017

Acacia Mining plc LSE:ACA

Update on the 2nd Presidential Committee Findings

Acacia notes the disappointing findings of the Presidential Second Committees report which were presented to the President of Tanzania H.E. Dr. John P. Magufuli this morning and which considered the historical economic and legal aspects of the export of metallic mineral concentrates.

The Second Committee has primarily based its findings on those of the First Presidential Committee, announced on 24 May 2017, that Acacia strongly refutes. That Committee based its findings on samples from 44 containers. Based on more than 20 years of data available to us it is impossible to reconcile those findings and they grossly overstate the value of the concentrates by more than 10 times.

The Second Committee has alleged that Acacia has under-declared revenues and tax payments over a number of years by tens of billions of US dollars. As a result it has made a series of recommendations including the payment of outstanding taxes and royalties, re-negotiation of large-scale Mineral Development Agreements, Government ownership in the mines, and the continuation of the export ban.

Acacia strongly refutes these new unfounded accusations. We have always conducted our business to the highest standards and operated in full compliance with Tanzanian law. We re-iterate that we have declared everything of commercial value that we have produced since we started operating in Tanzania and have paid all appropriate royalties and taxes on all of the payable minerals that we produce. In addition, our published accounts are annually audited to an international standard in accordance with IFRS.

Acacia has long sought to be a partner with the Government of Tanzania as we believe that we have similar goals in enhancing social and economic development in the country. However, this partnership must be based on fairness for all stakeholders, including the 96% of our employees at our mines who are Tanzanian, and our shareholders who have funded the US$4 billion of investment that Acacia has made into the country to date.

Acacia remains open to further dialogue with the Government regarding this issue and continues to assess all of its options. We will provide a further update to the market as soon as practical.

as i wrote on advfn this morning ....

ACA won't recover with gold, if ever ...... could even be a tanzanian plot to bankrupt the company so they can pick up the bits for nothing

The Tanzanian government are made up of crooks

really? ..... you amaze me, for i thought all these african countries were now as pure as the driven snow

You are just as sarcastic as ever... LOL

an outrageous slur

Very bad news for Acacia... looks like no light at the end of the tunnel.

Acacia could lose Tanzania mines

The second Tanzanian investigative committee has said Acacia Mining (LN:ACA) has no legal right to be operating in the country and owes the country tens of billions of US dollars in taxes and royalties.

President John Magufuli launched two committees in March at the same time as banning gold and copper concentrate exports.

The first committee reported last month and said Acacia was exporting 10 times more gold than it declared, which the miner said would make its Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi gold mines the biggest in the world.

Magufuli said the second committee had found something even more damaging.

“Acacia Gold Mining is operating in the country illegally because it has not been registered by the Business and Registration Licensing Agency,” he said according to The Citizen newspaper.

From the numbers given by Acacia – that it owes Tanzania tens of billions of dollars – it seems the second committee has followed on from the first committee’s workings.

That committee checked 277 containers bound for shipping that were holding gold and copper concentrate and said there was 250,000 ounces of gold in them, compared with Acacia’s stated 26,000oz.

The new report said Acacia could lose control of its three mines in the country, including North Mara.

“Since Acacia Mining plc has no registration or legal recognition in Tanzania, it does not qualify for a licence, to dig or to do business in mining,” a translation of the Swahili report (see attachment) said.

The committee also said it had underpaid taxes for years, according to an Acacia press release.

“The second committee has alleged that Acacia has under-declared revenues and tax payments over a number of years by tens of billions of US dollars,” the company said.

“As a result, it has made a series of recommendations including the payment of outstanding taxes and royalties, re-negotiation of large-scale mineral development agreements, government ownership in the mines, and the continuation of the export ban.”

“Acacia strongly refutes these new unfounded accusations. We have always conducted our business to the highest standards and operated in full compliance with Tanzanian law.”

The concentrate export ban in March blocked hundreds of concentrate containers leaving Tanzania and the miner has since built up major stockpiles.

It has continued to export gold doré but cash supplies have been hit as it loses US$1 million a day in revenue and is spending around $15 million a month extra because of the ban, CEO Brad Gordon said earlier this month.

The possibility of suspending Bulyanhulu, as Gordon floated, would be rendered moot if the government accepts the committees finding and decides Acacia has no right to continue mining.

told you so!

Maybe Acacia should just seek forgiveness and the sp would soon rise...


Acacia Mining has been accused by the Tanzanian government of operating in the country illegally. An audit ordered by President John Magufuli in March found that Acacia had been conducting business in Tanzania “contrary to the law,” said Nehemiah Osoro, chairman of a committee of academics, lawyers and economists that conducted the probe.

“We should summon them and demand that they pay us back our money,” Magufuli said after receiving the committee’s report. “If they accept that they stole from us and seek forgiveness in front of God and the angels and all Tanzanians and enter into negotiations, we are ready to do business.”

The audit has covered mineral exports over the past 19 years. The accusation is the latest sign of deteriorating relations between Acacia and the country where it mines all its gold. Last month, a Tanzanian presidential committee investigating the export of gold and copper concentrates, said that Acacia hasn’t fully declared all the minerals contained in its concentrate and directed that investigations into the concentrates be carried out.

The company has in several incidents announced that it was suffering loss for not exporting the concentrates, and added that it was losing $1 million a day because of a surprise ban on copper and gold concentrate exports, which has been levied by President John Magufuli and the Tanzanian government.

Acacia said it revealed everything of commercial value that it produces and pays all appropriate royalties and taxes.

Labour concerns

Meanwhile, the miner has also confirmed that it is in the process of retrenching its workers, mostly in the security section.
This comes in the wake of an announcement by the National Union for Mines and Energy Workers of Tanzania secretary, Nicodemus Kajungu, in a forum organised by opposition party ACT Wazalendo that Acacia was planning to lay off at least 400 workers.

Acacia communications and public relations manager Nectar Foya said in an email that the company would be outsourcing its security function at all three of its mines – North Mara, Bulyanhulu and Buzwagi, to a specialist security provider.

Foya did not say the actual number of workers to be retrenched, but she said consultations with employees were on-going.

“We have decided to outsource our security staff, because we believe that by doing so our people and assets will be protected in the best possible way,” she said.

Acacia Mining, one of the largest gold producers in Africa, will be forced to close its flagship mine in Tanzania unless the government lifts an export ban that has seen the company chew through almost half its cash pile in the past six months.

The FTSE 250 company, which is majority owned by Barrick Gold, has been involved in a bitter dispute with Tanzania’s President John Magufuli since he banned exports of unprocessed ores in March as part of a plan to promote the development of domestic smelting.

Brad Gordon, Acacia’s chief executive, said on Friday that the company would be “prudent” to mothball the Bulyanhulu mine if negotiations with the east Africa nation had not been concluded by the end of September.

“We have to protect our cash pile,” Mr Gordon said as the company released interim results.

Tanzania has accused Acacia, one of the country’s largest private employers, of operating illegally and failing to pay billions of dollars of taxes; the company has denied the charges.

In June, Tanzania agreed to start discussions with Barrick to try and settle the dispute, which has wiped £1bn off Acacia’s market value over the past six months.

Mr Gordon said he was disappointed not to be involved in the negotiations with the government but was confident of a positive outcome because both sides had too much to lose.

“We could be sitting here at the end of the year in a very different space,” he said.

Friday’s results showed Acacia’s cash position had fallen to $176m at the end of June, down from $318m at the beginning of the year, because it has been unable to sell 127,000 ounces of gold concentrate, or powder.

In the six months to June, revenue fell 22 per cent to $391.7m, while pre-tax profits were down just 2 per cent to $99.5m supported by “strong cost discipline”. Acacia did not declare an interim dividend because of the export ban.

“While the cash reduction is frightening, it is a natural reflection of the $1m a day that is being tied up in inventories while the export ban remains in place,” said Hunter Hillcoat, analyst at Investec Securities.

Acacia has invested more than $4bn in Tanzania over the past 20 years and operates three mines in the country. Bulyanhulu has been hit hardest by the export ban because almost half of its output is gold concentrate and it produces fewer valuable by-products such as copper.

Mr Gordon dismissed reports that two senior Acacia executives had been detained at an airport in Tanzania this week but said some of the company’s international contractors had faced difficulties getting work and residency permits.

Shares in Acacia fell 16 per cent, to a 17-month low of 234.5p on Friday. The shares are down 50 per cent since March and the company’s market value now stands below £1bn.