Barrick reaches deal with Mali after reports staff were detained

Barrick Gold Corp. and Mali’s military leadership have agreed to resolve a dispute over the company’s assets in the West African nation.

“Barrick and the government of Mali have agreed to find a global resolution to the existing claims and disputes between the government and Barrick’s Loulo and Gounkoto gold mining companies,” the Toronto-based miner said in an emailed statement on Monday.

Details of the agreement will be made public once the terms of the settlement have been finalized, according to the statement, which follows a Reuters report of the arrest of four Barrick employees.

Mali’s junta in 2023 adopted a new mining code that could see the government increase its stake to 35% in existing gold mines. Mining companies operating in Mali, including Barrick – the world’s second-largest miner and one of Mali’s top gold producers, has come under pressure from the military junta that took power in 2020, to adhere to the new law.

A Barrick spokesperson and an official from Mali’s mining ministry declined to comment further when reached by email and phone.

(By Katarina Höije)