Mali refuses to free detained staff of Canadian company
The Canadian mining giant has dismissed the allegations as baseless and filed an appeal challenging what it described as the employees' 'arbitrary' detention. However, Kone said Judge Samba Sarr deemed the petition 'unfounded.'
Barrick, one of the world's largest gold producers, has operated in Mali for nearly three decades, but relations have deteriorated amid a dispute over alleged unpaid taxes and royalties. Tensions escalated in November when four local executives were detained and a warrant was issued for CEO Mark Bristow. Recent negotiations broke down after the Malian authorities demanded a lump-sum payment of 125 billion CFA francs ($197 million) in unpaid revenues, while Barrick proposed a structured payment plan instead.
Last month, Mali's military-led government temporarily stripped Barrick of control over operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in the country's west. A court in Bamako ordered that management of the site be transferred to a state-appointed provisional administrator for a six-month period. Barrick denounced the ruling as illegal and a breach of its contractual agreements, and has filed a case against Mali with the World Bank's arbitration tribunal.
According to Bloomberg, the authorities in the Sahel state seized around a ton of gold from the mine earlier this month, which the provisional administration is expected to sell to fund the site's operations.
The Loulo-Gounkoto mines are 80% owned by Barrick and 20% by the Malian government. In 2023, the former French colony introduced a new mining code allowing the state to claim up to a 30% stake in new projects, as part of efforts to boost public revenues. In June, Mali's economy and finance minister, Alousseni Sanou, stated that a new agreement with Russia's Yadran Group to establish a gold refinery – 62% owned by the state – would help increase national income from bullion production.
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