The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Acacia Mining PLC posted a nearly 50-per-cent fall in first-quarter earnings Thursday after reducing operations at its flagship gold mine in Tanzania amid a tax dispute with the government. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Acacia, majority owned by Barrick Gold, said its gold production fell 45 per cent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier to 120,981 ounces, mainly because of lower output at its Bulyanhulu mine -- Tanazia's biggest. Acacia's London-listed shares skidded more than 13 per cent on Thursday and have now tumbled more than 70 per cent since Tanzania introduced a ban on concentrate exports in March, 2017. The company stuck to its full-year targets, targeting output of between 435,000 and 475,000 ounces, or at least 38 per cent lower than 2017, at a cost of $935 to $985 an ounce (all figures U.S.). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the three months to March 31 fell to $44-million from $82-million a year earlier. Acacia was forced to reduce operations at Bulyanhulu last year because of the tax dispute. The miner has begun to value its Tanzanian operations for a potential sale.