Barrick’s 15-year North Mara licences: output, AISC and expansion lens for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Tanzania has renewed Barrick’s two special mining licences for the North Mara gold mine for 15 years, securing tenure for the combined open-pit/underground operation that produced 249,000 attributable oz. last year and holds 43 Mt of proven and probable reserves at 2.32 g/t for 3.2 Moz. Barrick must lift output from 68,000 oz. in H1 to 132,000–162,000 oz. in H2 to meet 2026 guidance of 200,000–230,000 oz. at targeted AISC of US$1,520–US$1,680/oz., while studying debottlenecking and expansion of the North Mara–Bulyanhulu complex.
Technical Brief
- North Mara operates as a combined open-pit and underground mine, 540 km northwest of Dodoma.
- Ownership structure fixed at 84% Barrick, 16% free-carried interest held by the Tanzanian state.
- Twiga Minerals remains the management vehicle for North Mara–Bulyanhulu, with a 50:50 economic benefits split.
- Barrick’s settlement with Tanzania in 2019–2020 included a US$300 million payment to regularise operations.
- Tanzanian operations have contributed about US$5.3 billion since 2019, including US$1.2 billion in 2025 alone.
- First-half attributable production dropped 47% year-on-year to 68,000 oz, driven partly by lower ore grades.
- All-in sustaining costs escalated 79% year-on-year to US$2,283/oz, before any debottlenecking or expansion upgrades.
Our Take
With North Mara’s 15‑year licence in Tanzania and the planned spin‑off of a “North American Barrick” vehicle holding Nevada and Pueblo Viejo assets (11 May 2026 piece), Barrick is effectively locking in long‑dated African cash flow while signalling to investors that future valuation upside may be concentrated in a separate, regionally focused entity.
The 47% output decline and 79% AISC increase at the North Mara–Bulyanhulu complex put pressure on Barrick’s cost profile just as TD Cowen has been flagging production growth and valuation gaps as key catalysts for the company in its “Canada Best Ideas” list (22 September 2026), suggesting operational delivery in Tanzania will be closely watched as part of that thesis.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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