Barrick Gold and Mali to start new negotiations on mine Tuesday
TORONTO - Mali's government and Barrick Gold will start a new round of negotiations on Tuesday to resolve a deepening dispute over the alleged nonpayment of taxes by the Canadian miner and the seizure of its gold stocks by authorities in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Barrick, the world's second-largest gold miner by production, has temporarily suspended its mining operations in Mali after the government seized close to 3 metric tons of gold, worth $250-million from the company's Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
The issues at stake in the new round of negotiations are Mali's demanding $199-million, Barrick's agreeing to the new mining code and the release of the seized gold, according to people aware of the development who did not wish to be quoted as they are not authorized to speak about the issue.
Shares of Barrick closed at C$23, down by 0.2% at the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
Barrick declined to comment and the Mali government did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
Governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger -- all led by juntas -- are all seeking to renegotiate new terms with gold miners to gain a bigger share of mining revenue at a time when gold prices have hit record highs.
The dispute between Mali and Barrick is over the country's new mining code that came into effect in 2023. The mining code gives the state a bigger share of mining revenues and removes tax exemptions for mining companies.
Mali had previously demanded about $500=million in unpaid taxes from Barrick, sources told Reuters. Mali has also issued an arrest warrant against Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold.
Barrick denies any wrongdoing.
Jefferies analysts have estimated that suspending production at the mine could cut Barrick's earnings before interest, taxes and amortization by 11% in 2025.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Showroom
ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Tractor & Grader Supplies (TGS™): Your Trusted, Genuine Source for New Replacement Parts for Earthmoving, Construction and Mining Machinery
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
