The government of Mali has introduced a new mining legislation in a bid to redress the “shortcomings” of a 2012 law and increase the contribution of the mining sector to the economy. The new mining code announced by the Malian Mines Ministry on Wednesday, has withdrawn exemption from VAT during production, impacting the mining companies operating in the West African nation. The new regulation has also cut short the period of protection from fiscal and custom changes. Earlier, the ‘stability period’ was for a period of 30 years.
Mali is ranked as the third-largest gold producer of Africa. Industrial gold production rose by 23% in 2018 according to the Ministry of Mines of Mali. It also reported new discoveries of gold as well as other minerals such as bauxite and silver. Barrick Gold Corp, AngloGold Ashanti, B2Gold and Hummingbird Resources are some of the prominent industrial gold mines in Mali. In spite of the rise in gold production Mali faces severe socio-economic challenges. Social conflicts on environmental impacts of mining, distribution of revenues and informal mining have become core issues of the government.
