Mali takes control of Canadian-owned Barrick Gold mine over tax dispute
Zoumana Makadji, an accountant and a former Malian minister of health has been appointed as the company's provisional administrator within 15 days, Judge Issa Aguibou Diallo said in a statement to Barrick's lawyers.
Barrick's website said the company is Africa's largest gold producer through its Loulo-Gounkoto complex and Kibali mine located in Congo.
Barrick Gold has been in conflict with Mali's military rulers over alleged unpaid taxes and unfair contracts with past governments. The dispute culminated in an arrest warrant in December for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow and the company's offer to pay $370 million to the government.
'While Barrick's subsidiaries remain the legal owners of the mine, operational control has been transferred to an external administrator,' Barrick said in a statement on its website following the ruling.
In December, Barrick submitted a request for arbitration to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes to address disagreements with Mali concerning the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, where the mines are located.
Despite this, the government took a series of escalatory measures, including the arrest of Barrick Gold employees, who remain detained, and the suspension of gold exports.
Barrick, which has been present in Mali for three decades, emphasized that the arbitration process was still ongoing and reaffirmed its commitment to 'engaging with the government of Mali, in parallel, to identify a constructive, mutually acceptable solution.'
The company's statement on Monday added: "The ongoing detention of (our) employees — who remain unjustly imprisoned and used as leverage in this process — is deeply concerning and inconsistent with the trust, transparency and accountability required for a genuine long-term partnership.
'To date, no credible rationale has been presented to justify this detention and the Government's position, and the Government's ever-increasing demands have lacked both factual and legal foundation.'
Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, but it has struggled for years with jihadi violence and high levels of poverty and hunger. The military seized power in 2020, and the government has placed foreign mining companies under growing pressure as it seeks to shore up revenues.
In November, the CEO of Australian company Resolute Mining and two employees were arrested in Bamako. They were released after the company paid $80 million to Malian authorities to resolve a tax dispute and promised to pay a further $80 million in the coming months.
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The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Inside brutal ‘baby farms' where kidnapped girls as young as 13 are raped until pregnant & tots sold to desperate Brits
CAGED inside filthy, cramped buildings in Nigeria, pregnant teenagers cradle their swollen stomachs, knowing their babies will be ripped from their arms the moment they're born. The girls - watched closely by gunmen to ensure they don't escape - were kidnapped off the streets then brought to these hellholes to be repeatedly raped until they fell pregnant. 20 20 20 Their journey to motherhood is nothing short of horrific - with some girls fed just one meal a day, given poor medical care, and sexually abused by their captors while heavily pregnant. And their trauma will only intensify once their babies are born, as the defenceless infants are flogged to desperate infertile couples - allegedly including Brits - and child trafficking rings. Newborns from Nigerian 'baby factories' are reportedly being sold for as little as £60 - and as much as £2,000 - on the black market, with in-demand boys attracting a 'premium' price. Just this month, a family court in Leeds heard the case of a 'very young' baby who was brought in from Nigeria by a woman who was not their biological mother, and has now been put up for adoption. The case follows that of another baby brought unlawfully from Nigeria, who was taken in by social services in Manchester, amid fears that children from 'baby factories' are being trafficked to Britain. But, while they may never know their real mothers, they are perhaps among the lucky ones. Those babies not purchased by international or domestic couples, who claim them as their own, are used as child labour. Others are trafficked to Western nations as sex slaves. And for a few, their fate is even worse - with reports of infants being sacrificed in sick rituals. Experts tell The Sun that Nigeria's baby trafficking trade is 'lucrative', with an estimated 10 children sold each day - while their violated young mothers are left with empty arms. 'Infants are sold into black-market adoptions, domestic servitude, or trafficked into countries like the UK,' says Jared Navarre, Chairman of the Board of Project AK-47, a strategic humanitarian initiative that fights to free children enslaved and exploited globally. 'Some are moved on forged documents. 'Others are smuggled in under the radar and are never registered, and never found.' He adds: 'These factories exist because there's a market for human lives.' 20 20 20 As for the fate of the babies' mothers - some, who didn't die in childbirth the first time, are impregnated, again and again, with their newborns callously torn from them each time. When their depraved captors consider them no longer useful, the 'luckier' girls are freed - reportedly, with blindfolds on, so they can't locate the factories they were held at. Those less fortunate are never seen again. 'They're raped systematically and impregnated as part of the business model,' says Jared. 'They're not patients. They're inventory.' 20 20 20 Last week, it was reported that a woman living in West Yorkshire had flown to Nigeria before returning to Gatwick Airport with a 'very young' baby girl that she hadn't birthed. The woman, who was arrested, claimed she was the baby's biological mother, according to the BBC. However, tests showed 'no genetic link' to either the woman or her husband. The Leeds court heard that the baby had suffered "significant emotional and psychological harm" after her 'parents' lied and handed the authorities fake documents. A judge ordered that the girl - who, tragically, may never know the identities of her real parents - be placed for adoption. Police said there was no active investigation at present. A specialist social worker, who visited the medical centre where the mother alleged she had given birth, told the court the practice of "baby farming" is well known in West Africa. At least 200 illegal "baby factories" have been shut down by the Nigerian authorities in the last five years, she said. Promised 'easy money' 20 20 But such concerns aren't entirely new: in 2012, a High Court judge raised fears about 'desperate childless parents' becoming involved in baby-selling scams in Africa. Disguised as maternity clinics and orphanages, 'baby factories' plague south-eastern Nigeria - which has the dark reputation of being a major African country in human trafficking. Fuelled by poverty, heavy social pressure on women to bear children, and a stigma around teen pregnancy, these heinous sites have been described as 'puppy mills for people'. They have even inspired the recent Netflix series, Baby Farm. The girls at these 'factories' - some, just 14 - have either been recruited while pregnant with false promises of 'easy money', or have been kidnapped, raped and impregnated. 'Some come in already pregnant. Most don't,' says Jared. Forced to sell their babies 20 20 One survivor - who was already pregnant - told Al Jazeera that she was lured to a 'baby factory' by a woman who claimed she owned a home for young expectant mothers. But when she got there, the girl said the woman demanded to buy her unborn baby. 'I was really afraid and I was scared,' said the 19-year-old, who was held captive. She added that some imprisoned teens tried to kill themselves, while others staged escape attempts. 'I was among the ones who tried to escape, but there was no way,' she said. Human trafficking expert Joanna Ewart-James says some pregnant girls are 'coerced' into going to 'factories' through poverty, 'seeing no financial option other than to sell their baby'. 'Many young women are afraid to tell their families they are pregnant,' Joanna, co-founder of the US-based non-profit organisation, Freedom United, tells us. 'And without access to abortion and antenatal care, some are drawn to baby-sellers who keep them hidden - and captive - until the baby is born.' She adds of the infants involved: "The commodification - the buying and selling - of children and newborn babies is horrific because of their inability to defend themselves.' Abortion is illegal in Nigeria - where up to one million people each year are thought to be trafficked. Pregnancies can only be terminated to save the life of the mother. Another survivor, then 16, wasn't pregnant when a woman, known as 'Aunty Kiki', lured her from an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp to the Nigerian state of Enugu. Promised a job as a housemaid, with a monthly salary, the teen was transported to a compound guarded by gunmen, where a man allegedly ordered her to strip then raped her. 'The compound had two flats of three bedrooms each filled with young girls, some of them pregnant,' the teen - who would go on to suffer daily abuse - told Al Jazeera. Within weeks of being caged at the compound, the girl was pregnant. Yet she was still raped. 'It doesn't matter whether you are six weeks or six months pregnant,' said another girl who was impregnated at the compound. 'If any of the men wants you, you can't say no.' The two girls from the compound both delivered baby boys, who were snatched from them. The infants were sold to unknown customers, for unknown sums - though they likely drew a heftier price because they were male. Traditionally, in Nigeria, boys inherit land. 'Cryptic pregnancy doctors' 20 20 Lori Cohen, CEO of children's rights organisation Protect All Children from Trafficking (PACT), says that, in patriarchal societies like Nigeria, 'rigid gender roles continue to shape the cultural norms by placing a premium on fertility, and particularly boy babies'. So-called 'cryptic pregnancy doctors' in Nigeria prey on this pressure to conceive. Their cruel scams - which 'guarantee' couples a pregnancy - operate alongside 'baby factories'. In such scams, Nigerian couples longing to be parents fork out hundreds of pounds on 'miracle' fertility treatment - including injections that reportedly cause the woman's stomach to bloat. The 'doctors' administering the treatment promise the woman that she is pregnant - news she has, often, waited years to hear - despite medical scans and tests proving otherwise. As the 'birth' nears, the couple is told they must pay for an expensive drug to induce labour. But this is not always available imminently - because the 'drug' is, in fact, a trafficked baby. While waiting for this 'drug', women have reported being up to 15 months 'pregnant'. Ify Obinabo, Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs & Social Welfare, told a BBC Africa Eye documentary: 'Cryptic pregnancy cannot exist without child trafficking. Anybody that tells you [that] you will have a child through cryptic pregnancy is a liar… you are going to be given another person's child, a trafficked child. Ify Obinabo, Anambra State Commissioner for Women Affairs & Social Welfare 'Anybody that tells you [that] you will have a child through cryptic pregnancy is a liar… you are going to be given another person's child, a trafficked child.' One Nigerian-trained diagnostic sonographer, who dubs herself 'The Celebrity Sonographer', recently told of how a woman ended up with 'three cryptic babies'. Taking to Facebook, the sonographer, based in London, explained that the devastated woman had been convinced that she'd carried and given birth to her children. However, DNA tests had refuted this. For each birth, the woman had reportedly been called up by a hospital in Nigeria - which has reportedly since closed down - and told it was 'time for her to deliver'. 'She was not allowed to come with anyone,' wrote the sonographer. 'Once she arrives, they will make her sleep and when she wakes up, her baby will be by her side and that was how she gave birth to the three.' She added: 'It dawned on me that they had probably made her sleep to give her other people's children.' Some experts claim that 'local corruption' in Nigeria helps 'baby factories' to thrive. 'They operate because they're profitable, protected, and low-risk for the people running them,' says Jared. 'Local corruption shields them. International demand fuels them.' He adds: 'There's no meaningful consequence for either.' Nigerian cops have previously cracked down on such 'factories' through raids and arrests, with 22 pregnant women, aged between 20 and 25, rescued from one site in 2023. In 2021, four pregnant girls were saved from a 'factory' in Anambra, while, in 2019, police in the nation's biggest city, Lagos, freed 19 women and girls as well as four babies. Most of the survivors in Lagos - brought there from the states of Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Abia and Imo - had been kidnapped and impregnated by their captors. 'The young women were mostly abducted by the suspects for the purpose of getting them pregnant and selling the babies to potential buyers,' Lagos police spokesman Bala Elkana told Reuters at the time, adding that the victims had been 'tricked' with employment offers. 'Orphanage trafficking' 20 20 A year earlier, more than 160 children had been rescued from a 'baby factory' and two unregistered orphanages in the same city, which is known for its beach resorts and nightlife. Horrifically, some of the infants had been sexually abused, an official told the BBC in 2018. They were later placed in government-approved homes. According to Joanna, so-called 'orphanage trafficking' is ongoing in parts of Africa, with British volunteers becoming unknowing participants in such exploitation. 'Used to attract donations from abroad, poor parents in countries like Uganda or Cambodia are convinced that their child will be given an education,' she tells us. 'Instead, they are placed in an orphanage to attract money from well-meaning volunteers travelling in their gap year.' Meanwhile, in southern Nigeria, some women drug and 'rent' their young children out to street beggars, according to a 2018 trafficking report by the U.S. Department of State. They do this to increase the beggar's profits, with passersby feeling pity for the child. But, in at least one case, an infant died from a drug overdose. Even for the children who survive trafficking, the consequences are 'irreversible'. Referring to the infants sold by 'baby factory beasts', Irina Tsukerman, a New York-based human rights and national security lawyer, tells us: 'They are deprived of their identities, disconnected from their biological families, and placed into lives constructed on deception. 'Their legal status may remain ambiguous. 'Their access to education, healthcare, and social protection may be compromised. 'The psychological harm of being trafficked as a commodity is compounded by the systemic erasure of their origins.' She adds: 'For the mothers who survive these 'factories', the loss is equally profound. They [mothers] are left to contend with the trauma of forced pregnancy, the disappearance of their child, and the social isolation that often follows Irina Tsukerman 'They are left to contend with the trauma of forced pregnancy, the disappearance of their child, and the social isolation that often follows.' While Nigerian police continue to raid 'factories' - with suspects facing a reported 10 years behind bars - the UK government has restricted adoptions from Nigeria in recent years. Border Force officers are trained to identify and safeguard children who could be in danger. But experts insist more action must be taken against the buyers, and sellers, of 'factory' babies. 'As with other forms of human trafficking, forced harvesting of children only exists because of the underlying demand that makes this crime so profitable,' says Lori. 'Eliminating the demand for stolen babies by holding buyers accountable, in addition to these vile child brokers, is the surest way to shutter the doors of these criminal networks.' 20 20
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Ghana cancels $1.2 billion bauxite deal, eyes global partnership, sources say
ACCRA, July 28 (Reuters) - Ghana has cancelled a $1.2 billion bauxite lease with local firm Rocksure International, seeking a partnership instead with a big overseas company to tap one of West Africa's richest deposits, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Potential partners include Dubai-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) or a Chinese firm, two of the sources said. The termination marks a strategic pivot by Ghana, which holds an estimated 900 million metric tons of bauxite, the seventh largest globally, but has struggled to attract sustained investment in mining and refining infrastructure. Rocksure's lease covered the Nyinahin Hills in central Ghana, home to about 376 million tons of bauxite, the feedstock for aluminium. It was the basis for a joint venture between Rocksure and the state-owned Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) to build a mine and alumina refinery, with Rocksure holding 70% of the Asante Bauxite Company JV. GIADEC and the government owned 20% and 10%, respectively. The lease was never ratified by parliament, rendering it void under a 2019 Supreme Court ruling. "By the Exton Cubic ruling, without ratification, you have no lease," one of the sources said, adding that the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources had informed Rocksure. GIADEC declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations. The lands ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Rocksure also declined to comment. Another of the sources said the firm had not been formally notified of the termination, only that GIADEC was exiting the JV. Ghana, Africa's top gold producer, lags in bauxite production behind regional peers like Guinea, a global bauxite giant. GIADEC is now actively courting new investors, including EGA and several Chinese firms, the GIADEC source said. EGA, which lost its mining license in Guinea over delays in building a refinery, signed a memorandum of understanding with GIADEC in June to explore opportunities in Ghana. 'EGA has expressed interest in jointly developing bauxite opportunities in Ghana and is currently assessing the technical and commercial parameters of such collaboration,' the company told Reuters in an email response to queries. EGA said no binding agreement had been signed, and did not disclose investment figures, resource estimates or timelines. A third source said EGA had previously considered investing in Ghana around 2022 but backed out to avoid jeopardizing its Guinea license. "They didn't want Guinea to feel they were shifting focus to Ghana," the source said. "Sourcing bauxite from Ghana aligns with our objective to grow aluminium production by diversifying our supply base,' EGA said. GIADEC aims to begin extraction and off-take from the area - known as Block B - in the first quarter of next year. While no deals have been finalised, talks with potential partners are at an advanced stage, according to the first source. "We're looking at all options to see which one serves the interest of the nation," the first source said. The Ghana Chamber of Mines projects national bauxite output will rise to 2 million tons in 2025, from a record 1.7 million tons this year.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Ghana govment withdraw students from schools as fight for Bawku rise, oda tins to know about di kasala
One chieftaincy conflict bin dey go on for one part of Ghana for more dan 60 years. Di 'Bawku conflict' na between two ethnic groups for di Upper East region of di kontri and according to sabi pipo di fight na sake of who go rule di pipo on top di land. Ova di years, tension don dey di area wia fight don dey happun every time. E bin lead to death of many pipo wey dem destroy properties. Govment afta govment don struggle to deal wit di conflict. Di small arms commission and oda groups raise alarm about weapons wey bin dey move around for dat part of di kontri as di conflict dey continue. One lawmaker wey be ex-senior police officer Peter Toobu tok for local radio network Joy FM for April 2025 say tins don dey get out of hand. "Di flow of weapons for Bawku na real tin, di proliferation of small arms and light weapons for dis kontri na big matter." Im add say "e dey possible say pipo wey bin dey trade in arms for dia go dey make plenty money." Im also fear say oda pipo don dey "radicalise di youth" for Bawku to continue di conflict. Recently, di youth for di area don attack security personnel - dem also kill some of dem, sometin oga Peter Toobu, di retired police office dey worried about. Q: Wetin happun over di weekend Ova di weekend, gunmen don allegedly storm senior high school campus for Bawku and Nalerigu wia dem open fire. Dem bin kill two male students for di Nalerigu senior high school Saturday evening. Assembly member for di Denugi electoral area confam di tori, according to state news outlet daily graphic. Anoda kasala happun for di Bawku senior high school dat same Saturday night wey dem allegedly kill one student for dia. Dem don also allegedly set di house of di member of parliament for Bawku, Mahama Ayariga on fire. Dis no be di first di house of di MP bin dey under attack for di last few months. Q: Why dem shutdown schools wey dem evacuate students Di municipal education office shut down di Bawku senior high school indefinitely afta di death of di student. Director for di education office oga Isaac Agbeko announce di closure of di school "sake of safety concerns for both students and teachers." Inside one statement from di govment communication minister, dem tok say dem dey "evacuate students from di Nalerigu and Bawku senior high schools" afta di tension bin rise. "As part of govment effort to enforce peace for dia, we bin dey evacuate all students from various educational institutions for di affected areas, some of wey bin dey targeted for di conflict," Felix Kwakye Ofosu, di govment tok tok pesin write inside di statement. Q: Why dem renew curfew for Bawku, Nalerigu and dia environs Di latest tension don force di interior ministry to revise di curfew time for those areas. Inside one statement di interior minister Muntaka Mohammed tok say "wit di advice of di North East regional security council and by executive instrument, we don impose curfew hours for Nalerigu and di oda townships from 2 PM to 6 AM effective Sunday 27 July, 2025." "Dis na until further notice; govment bin dey call on di chiefs, elders, di youth and pipo for dia to exercise restraint for dis tough time and use non-violent means to ensure peace." Di ministry also tok say "we don ban all pipo for Nalerigu and di oda communities from carrying arms, ammunition and any oda offensive weapon." "Any pesin we go find wit arms and ammunition go dey arrested and prosecuted." Dem ban motorbikes afta dem kill one local Kusaase chief for Asawase for Ashanti region Q: Why dem ban motorbikes, smock and oda clothes for Kumasi Bifor di weekend killings for Nalerigu and Bawku, dem bin kill two pipo for di Ashanti region; of dem na local chief of Kusaase - Alhaji Abdul-Malik Azengbe. Police begin investigation for di matter but sabi pipo tink say dey connected to di same Bawku conflict sake of one of di feuding parties bin dey involved. Afta di death of di local chief di Ashanti regional security council don take some measures - no motorbikes go dey allowed on top di road between 7PM and 6AM until further notice - motorbike riders no dey allowed to carry passengers or additional pesin during di day - di use of unregistered motorbikes dey banned - di inter-tribal football competition wey bin dey go on for di area dey suspended wit immediate effect - no motorbike rider dey permitted to wear smock, jacket or three-piece suits as pipo bin dey use dem to hide weapons - pipo no dey allowed to carry weapons whether dem dey licensed or not inside dia cars or on top motorbikes - dem increase police and soldiers for hotspot areas for di region - di security go do random stop-and-search for checkpoints Q: Wetin govment do to beef up security for Bawku, Nalerigu Govment step up peace enforcement for Bawku and oda affected areas due to di "escalation of violence wey bin dey affect peace-building efforts by di govment." Inside di statement govment say "di armed forces don deploy soldiers to maintain law and order as we intensify curfews to ensure public safety." "We bin dey assure di public say di Ghana armed forces go take all necessary strips to protect lives and property," di govment tok tok pesin add. Dis no be di first time govment bin dey deploy soldiers to Bawku for dis chieftaincy conflict. But dem dey hope say dis latest deployment go help di situation. Q: Wetin be di status of mediation to bring peace dia Di latest kasala bin dey affect mediation efforts. Di govment don select di Ashanti king say make im lead mediation efforts for di conflict. For 2 July 2025 di King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II resume mediation wia im hold close-door meeting wit leaders of di factions. Dis bin follow meetings im do separately wit representatives of di two factions for 29 April 2025. Govment bin dey commend di Ashanti king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and di stakeholders wey bin dey involved for dis mediation. "Di Otumfuo mediation wit di help if Nayiri (overlord of Mamprugu kingdom) and Zugraana (paramount chief of di Kusaug traditional area for Bawku), don almost solve di conflict bifor di latest killings wey don call for ogbonge action to protect everybody." Di conflict for Bawku don affect many tins - education, health, business and odas. Di inspector general of police Christian Tetteh Yohuno don visit di area recently afta dem appoint am as new IGP. Im appeal to di youth for dia to "lay down dia arms", but tension still dey di communities. Q: Wetin President Mahama tok about di kasala President John Mahama say govment dey committed to "restore lasting peace and stability for Bawku." "We believe say peace for Bawku na national matter wey bin dey require everybody so say justice go prevail make we solve dis issue wit dialogue." Di president tok dis on 20 July 2025 when delegation of pipo from di Mamprugu chief bin pay courtesy call for di presidency. Im tok say di Bawku conflict bin dey affect everybody for di area including all di ethic groups dia. Public sector workers like teachers, nurses, among odas don run comot di area sake of di tension wey odas neva dey want posting to di area sake of di tension. "Nobody dey happy about dis situation for Bawku but we go do our best to address di matter."
