Canada's Barrick Gold reports drop in Q3 gold production

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Oct 12 (Reuters) - Canada's Barrick Gold Corp, the world's largest gold miner, said on Thursday its gold production fell in the third quarter, hurt by low output at majority owned Acacia Mining.

Toronto-based Barrick Gold estimated it produced 1.24 million ounces of gold in the quarter ended Sept 30, less than the 1.38 million ounces produced a year earlier.

The average market price for gold in quarter fell to $1,278 per ounce from $1,333, the company said.

Acacia said on Thursday its production dropped in the last quarter due to work permit issues and curtailed operations at its main Tanzanian mines.

The London-listed firm is caught up in a dispute with the Tanzanian government which banned the export of unprocessed minerals and enacted new laws to raise state ownership of the nation's mines.

Barrick said in July that Acacia's operations affected by the ban accounted for about 6 percent of its gold production forecast for 2017.

Barrick said it will report its full third-quarter financial results on Oct. 25. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)