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24-06-2025
BAMAKO/ DAKAR: Malian tax officials have reopened Barrick Mining’s, opens new tab office in the capital under a court-appointed administrator, after it was shuttered in April over alleged non-payment of taxes, two people close to the matter told media.
It marks the first significant development since a Malian court on June 16 placed the Canadian miner’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under state control in a major escalation of a protracted dispute over taxes and ownership.
It named former Malian health minister, Soumana Makadji, as provisional administrator in a move that Barrick has said it will appeal.
Makadji is expected to restart operations at the complex soon. He will be visiting the site later this week, according to three people familiar with the matter.
He is scheduled to hold meetings with Barrick staff and subcontractors at the Bamako office on Monday afternoon.
Spokespeople for Barrick and for Mali’s mines ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Barrick and the government have been in negotiations since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share in the gold mines.
Operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex have been suspended since mid-January after the military-led Malian government blocked Barrick’s gold exports and seized three metric tons of its stocks. Barrick’s main office in Bamako has been closed since April.
Canada’s Barrick Mining, opens new tab had its Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali placed under state control by a court on Monday in a major escalation of a dispute over taxes and ownership.
A former Malian health minister, Soumana Makadji, will take over as provisional administrator for six months, the presiding judge said.
Barrick said it will appeal the decision.
The move follows actions by the Malian government to block gold exports and seize gold stocks held by Barrick’s subsidiaries.
Barrick in a statement said it believes those actions, which led to the temporary suspension of its operations, were unjustified.
“Justice was neither heard, nor served,” Issaka Keita, one of Barrick’s lawyers, told media. The Loulo-Gounkoto complex, which accounted for 14% of the company’s output, has been suspended since January amid a standoff between the company and the government over taxes and ownership.
The government, a shareholder in the mining complex, in May asked the Bamako Commercial Court to appoint an administrator, signaling its desire to reopen the complex amid record-high global gold prices.
Barrick shares were down 0.7% in early Monday trade in Toronto.
A spokesperson for Mali’s mines ministry declined to comment.
If reopened, the mine could bring in revenue worth at least $1 billion over the next year, according to media estimates, as gold prices soar.
The standoff, however, risks repelling potential investors in Mali, while Barrick’s shares have lagged those of its peers.
The two sides have been in negotiations since 2023 over the implementation of a new mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share in the gold mines.
They are trying to agree on a new contract in line with the new legislation.
Barrick’s mining licence in Mali is set to expire in February 2026, according to people familiar with the matter. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
