Exclusive: Barrick Gold signs agreement with Mali to end mining dispute.
Canadian miner Barrick Gold has signed a new agreement with the Malian government to end an almost two-year-old dispute over its mining assets in the West African country, four people familiar with the developments .
Barrick has signed the agreement and it is now up to Mali’s government to formally approve the deal, the sources told Reuters. An official announcement could come as early as Thursday. Another source said that though a deal was close, last minute hurdles could still derail it.
The Toronto-based miner and Mali have been locked in a dispute since 2023 over the implementation of the West African country’s new mining code that gives Mali’s government a greater share in the gold mine.
As part of the new agreement, Barrick will pay a total of 275 billion CFA or $438 million to the Mali government, in return for the release of detained employees, seized gold, and restarting the operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto mine.
He said that Barrick paid $460 million to the Mali government last year and would have contributed about $550 million to the nation’s treasury this year if operations had not been suspended.
Barrick lowered its gold output forecast this year to between 3.2 million ounces and 3.5 million ounces due to the temporary halt at the Mali mine. Barrick’s gold output was 3.9 million ounces last year and 4.1 million ounces in 2023.
Military governments in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are using legal disputes, arrests, and nationalisations, as well as threats to deepen their ties with Russia, to assert greater control over their gold and uranium wealth.
Source: REUTERS
