Barrick says 'committed to reaching a mutually beneficial resolution' in Mali

Source: Reuters.

The Canadian miner and Malian government have been locked in a dispute since 2023 over the implementation of the West African country's new mining code, which gives the state a greater share in Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex.

Barrick said on Monday, 13 January that it was obliged to temporarily suspend mining operations in Mali after the government seized around three metric tons of gold stock from its complex. The government had been blocking the company's gold exports since early November.

On Wednesday, 19 February Barrick signed an agreement to end the dispute, which then went to the state for formal approval.

While there has not been any major hiccup since then, the deal is taking some time to be finalised.

Previous deals with other mining companies operating in Mali also took "some time" to be signed by the government, according to another person familiar with the deals.

In the company memo sent to staff on Saturday, Sebastiaan Bock said there are "no major updates at this stage".

"As a reminder, all non-critical operations remain temporarily paused until further notice," he said.

Salaries and annual bonuses have been maintained for staff despite the suspension. But one of the complex's suppliers noted in early March that Barrick had two months' worth of overdue payments.