Mali judge rejects Barrick appeal to free detained employees
A court in Mali has rejected Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX)(NYSE: B) appeal to release four employees arrested in November, deepening a high-stakes standoff between the Canadian mining giant and the country’s military-led government.
Judge Samba Sarr ruled the appeal “unfounded” according to Barrick, which has repeatedly dismissed the charges as politically motivated and legally baseless. The employees, local staff working at Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine, remain in pre-trial detention in Bamako. They face allegations including money laundering and regulatory violations, Alifa Habib Kone, a lawyer for Barrick, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Chief executive officer Mark Bristow is also facing an arrest warrant issued by Malian authorities in December. He is accused of similar offences.
Bristow and the company have rejected all allegations, calling them without merit.
The court’s decision marks the latest escalation in a standoff between Barrick and Mali’s military-led government, which seized power in a 2021 coup — Colonel Assimi Goïta’s second in under a year.
Relations have deteriorated sharply over disputes involving taxes, gold export rights, and the ownership structure of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex. Barrick holds an 80% stake in the operation, while the Malian state owns the remaining 20%.
Operations at the site have been suspended since January after the government blocked gold export permits and seized more than three tonnes of the metal. On July 10, Malian helicopters reportedly landed at Loulo-Gounkoto without notice and removed an additional tonne of gold, worth $117 million at current prices.
Mali accounts for roughly 14% of Barrick’s global gold production. In the first nine months of last year, the company generated $949 million in revenue from its operations in the country.
MINING.COM reached out to Barrick for comment on the court ruling, but the company had not responded by the time this story was published.
More News
{{ commodity.name }}
{{ post.title }}
{{ post.date }}
8 Comments
Chinkwenga Morgan
In all fairness, the best workable partnership is a 50% stake for Mali and Barrick. Mali provides the labour, land and the gold, while Barrick gets provides capital/machinery. Mali as a country cannot get 20% while Barrick gets 80%. Barrick should be fare. This deal is void.
Oredigr
Why would any company be willing to invest their capital, technology and skill to develop a mine if half of the revenue goes to the government? Notice I said revenue, not profits, because that is what these people think of when they ask for more. Most do not understand the difference. The best way for any country to kill their economy is for the government to take over the mines. We have seen this play out over and over.
Donna Green
The gold in Mali, belongs to Malians. All those who previously took advantage of the poor so called, leadership by corrupt western puppets and have had their LOT. AFRIKA IS AWAKE AND RISING !!!
Vernon
Yes, the minerals belong to the people. The mining giants and corrupt leaders take the bulk. No Malian or locals benefit, it’s all over the world like this. The poor stay hungry.
Carl Richardson
Take back what’s the people and help your country
Jeff Watson
Well, perhaps it’s time for a small, well equiped mercenary force to usher in a more sympathetic govt.
The French Forign Legion springs to mind.
kiers
i guess i can predict the anglo reaction: some unfortunate incidents might be coming to Mali? hmm….?
Gilly More
Honestly there’s no justification for a mining company to own 80% share while the country which the gold belongs to, own 20%, who does that in any western world agreement, when Norway discovered oil, shell which did exploitation, was not allowed by Norway to dictate to them, rather Norwegian were trained on how to extract the oil , and the Norwegian government imposed 90% export of crude oil tax on Shell , so that made it difficult for Shell to maintain control over the oil and left. It’s time African must be smart to do so. Africa must not sign bogus deal with rogues and crooks who called themselves investors, if that happens, the government must impose higher tax on all product or mineral exported and that would be your gaulin. African leaders must learn from countries like Norway, the gulf states how their oil deals and contracts were signed. All these examples are online u can read about. Yet foolish politicians will collect bribes and allow foreign companies loot and steal the African wealth. Only military leaders can challenge such rogue’s and criminal enterprise. Where in the world is this done? Except Africa, why because the black man is weak in mind when it comes to money, he thinks about himself and not the nation. The earlier Africans stand up against such crooks the better we become responsible and respected. After multinational companies loot and steal, they go back and called Africa a poor continent. Mali must accept any nonsense from Barrick , hold them accountable and jail them . African leaders wake Up and command some respect around the globe. 50% percent should not be the case , the nation must have 60% and the investor 40% . Period .