Porgera Mine Working with UN and Enga Provincial Government to Provide Humanitarian Aid to Violence-Stricken Province

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea-Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) - New Porgera Limited (NPL) said today it is working with the United Nations (UN) and Enga Provincial Government (EPG) as part of an ad hoc crisis committee to assist with humanitarian aid to the conflict-ridden Porgera Valley in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province.

Following the committee's first meeting this Tuesday, it was agreed that a donor assessment team would travel to Porgera to make a first-hand assessment of the situation and community needs. NPL is providing logistical support, including a helicopter, to make this visit possible.

According to Papua New Guinea's Mineral Resource Authority managing director Jerry Garry, the wide-spread tribal violence in the area initially started in a dispute between two illegal miners from the Kandep and Laiagam districts which quickly escalated into local villages and the wider community.

NPL has been assisting the national Papua New Guinea government and EPG with disaster relief efforts since the deadly Mulitaka landslide on May 24 this year. NPL community relations officers were among the first on the ground after the landslide struck and have been assisting the UN and other agencies since. Senior NPL executives were also seconded to the Enga Provincial Disaster Management Committee to assist with relief work.

Barrick Gold Corporation and Zijin Mining Group - the 50:50 joint venture partners in Barrick Niugini Limited, part-owner of NPL with the government owning the rest - jointly donated $1 million to the relief while NPL donated food, temporary shelter and other essential items to afflicted families.

Other relief measures undertaken by the mine include fencing the Mulitaka Health Centre; repairing and reinforcing the Mulitaka High School for the temporary accommodation of disaster relief teams; donating mattresses and bedding for police; establishing a temporary fuel pipeline, helicopter air bridge and working with the Porgera Chamber of Commerce to provide much-needed fuel and supplies to the community. NPL is also working with the Government to complete a permanent bypass road that will restore the full access for the Porgera community that was cut off by the landslide.

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Kathy du Plessis
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