The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Papua New Guinea has threatened to take control of a gold mine operated by Barrick after the company's local unit suspended operations on the weekend after news the mine's lease would not be renewed. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Barrick had applied for a 20-year lease renewal with its joint-venture partner, China's Zijin Mining Group, of the Porgera gold mine that Papua New Guinea rejected on Friday. Barrick had run into opposition from Papua New Guinea landowners and residents. Critics say the Porgera mine has polluted the water supply and created other environmental and social problems, with minimal economic returns for locals. Barrick says the lack of renewal is tantamount to nationalization. Its local unit, Barrick (Niugini) Ltd., suspended operations on Saturday because the government had not indicated that it would renew the lease. Barrick and Zijin each own 47.5 per cent of the mine, with the remaining 5 per cent held by landowner group Mineral Resources Enga Ltd. PNG Prime Minister James Marape warned Barrick in a social-media post late on Monday that the government would be forced to take control of the mine if it were to be closed.