Mali threatens to seize Barrick Gold’s assets, company says

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The Malian government has escalated a dispute with Barrick Gold by closing the Canadian mining company’s office in Bamako and threatening to seize control of its assets in the country, the group said on Tuesday.

The ruling military junta had shut Barrick’s office in the Malian capital and warned it would place the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold-mining complex “under provisional administration unless the mine was reopened and tax payments were made — even though gold exports remain blocked”, the group added.

Barrick, one of the world’s largest gold miners, is among several western companies that were targeted last year amid tensions with the military junta.

Although certain companies reached agreements with the government in order to continue operating in the country, some executives and staff — including those of Barrick — were arrested.

In January, Barrick suspended operations in Mali after the government seized some of the company’s gold.

Barrick said at the time it had “regrettably initiated the temporary suspension of operations” at Loulo-Gounkoto because the company was being stopped from exporting gold from the mine.

The complex is important for the company, and produced its second- largest output of gold in 2023 after mines in Nevada.

Barrick said on Tuesday the escalation this week had come in spite of it reaching an agreement about Loulo-Gounkoto with the Malian government, adding this had been “accepted” by the ministry of finance in February. The company did not outline the details of the agreement.

“Although Barrick signed the agreement presented by the government as requested in February, the government has failed to execute it,” Barrick said, adding it was still willing to “honour” the accord.

Barrick went on to say an agreement with the government about Loulo-Gounkoto “now appears to be obstructed by a small group of individuals placing personal or political interests above the long-term interests of Mali and its people”.

“It is regrettable that the government continues to obstruct gold exports while simultaneously demanding tax payments on revenue it has actively prevented from being realised,” the company added.

Barrick said it was prepared to take legal action against the Malian government if a solution to the dispute could not be found.

The government has been approached for comment.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said last week that Mali’s new mining code had increased the country’s tax revenues in 2024, in spite of a fall in gold production last year.