Canadian mining company Barrick Gold announced that it would temporarily suspend operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali after the Malian government seized gold stocks from the facility over the weekend.
Approximately three metric tons of gold, valued at around $245 million, were taken from the western Mali mining complex on Saturday and flown out by helicopter, sources told Reuters.
This action further intensifies tensions in Mali’s mining sector, where the government has been tightening control and increasing its share of profits from resource extraction.
In response, Barrick issued a letter to the Malian government on Monday, stating that the seizure forced the company to halt mining activities at both the Loulo and Gounkoto mines.
The seized gold from Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in western Mali will be transported to the state-owned Banque Malienne de Solidarité (BMS) in the capital Bamako, according to two sources.
Eyewitnesses reported that the gold was shipped out in two separate Air Force helicopter loads. This seizure was part of a confiscation order issued by a judge last week.
According to Reuters, a court order revealed that Judge Boubacar Moussa Diarra had issued the seizure as part of a larger claim by Mali’s economy ministry, which asserted that Barrick’s two mines in the country owed a total of $5.5 billion in taxes—much more than the previously estimated $500 million.
Mali had previously demanded around $500 million in unpaid taxes from Barrick, which the company denies. Barrick’s quarterly earnings report confirms that it paid $85 million to the Malian government in October.
Conflict between Mali and Barrick Gold has intensified over time, with Mali taking drastic measures, including detaining senior executives from the company and issuing an arrest warrant for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow.
