The rising price of gold has intensified a decadelong conflict between international companies and the small-scale miners they replaced. Over the 1990s, Tanzania...brought in international miners, who forced out tens of thousands of artisan miners from areas their families had mined for generations... In Tanzania's Mara region, Barrick Gold Corp.'s North Mara Gold Mine finds itself embroiled in daily confrontations with locals... The efforts to stave off these small-scale miners by force have worsened the friction... After the deployment of up to 25 paramilitary police guards in recent months, confrontations with locals increased and there have been a number of shootings. According to Charcha Murwa, the head of Foundation Help, a local nongovernmental organization monitoring human rights, the local guards are also corrupt and extort money from artisan miners to allow them access to the premises of the mine. North Mara management says it can't be held responsible for the actions of the police guards. "They are deployed by government and draw a government salary, they are not on our payroll," said [Gerhard Hermann, production manager]. In Tanzania the government hopes that tensions and confrontations...can be reduced by revising the 1998 Minerals Act... Some [contemplated reforms]...include...improving compensation for locals and artisan miners... "Compensation packages being paid by Barrick are less than the market value..." said [Tundu Lissu, head of Lawyers Environmental Action Team]. Teweli Teweli, spokesman for...Barrick Tanzania Ltd., rejects the charge, saying the company's packages are always in line with the government evaluator's valuations... In October, the International Council on Mining and Metals warned that changing Tanzania's current mining legislation could jeopardize future investments. [also refers to AngloGold Ashanti]