A standoff over a remote gold mine in Papua New Guinea threatens Barrick Gold Corp CEO Mark Bristow’s streak of resolving thorny disputes with host governments, in the first major test he has faced outside his home patch of Africa.

Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold producer, lost a key court challenge last week over rights to the Porgera gold mine. PNG Prime Minister James Marape in April refused to extend Barrick’s lease for the requested 20 years and instead gave the lease to a state-owned mining company Kumul Minerals Holdings Ltd.