Bristow said Barrick, through its predecessor Randgold Resources, had been investing in and partnering with Côte d'Ivoire through the country's many challenges and development stages. "The successful commissioning of Tongon in the midst of a civil war was a landmark achievement in the development of a gold mining industry in the highly prospective but underexplored Côte d'Ivoire. Since then, the mine has been consistently profitable – it has just declared a $150 million dividend for the second quarter of this year – and boasts one of the best safety records in the Barrick group. Over time it has invested $1.77 billion in the Ivorian economy in the form of taxes, salaries, payments to local suppliers and infrastructure developments," Bristow said.