Barrick Gold Affirms Commitment to Mutually Beneficial Resolution in Mali

(3 Minutes Read)

Barrick Gold is “fully engaged and committed to achieving a mutually beneficial resolution” with Mali regarding a dispute over its assets, according to the company’s chief operating officer for Africa and the Middle East. The Canadian mining company and the Malian government have conflicted since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that allocates a larger share of Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex to the state.

On January 13, Barrick announced it was forced to temporarily suspend mining operations in Mali after the government seized approximately three metric tons of gold from its complex. The government has been obstructing the company’s gold exports since early November. Barrick had previously reached an agreement to resolve the dispute, which is pending formal approval from the state.

Read Also:

https://trendsnafrica.com/mali-suspends-foreign-artisanal-gold-mining/

While there have been no significant setbacks since then, finalising the deal is taking longer than expected. Past agreements with other mining companies in Mali have also experienced delays in government approval, according to a source familiar with those transactions. In a memo to staff on Saturday, Sebastiaan Bock noted that there are “no major updates at this stage.” He reiterated that all non-critical operations remain temporarily halted until further notice. Despite the suspension, salaries and annual bonuses for employees have been upheld, though one supplier mentioned in early March that Barrick had two months’ worth of overdue payments.