Four Barrick Gold employees are detained by the Mali junta

Four workers of Canadian miner Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) have been taken into custody by Mali’s military-led government, according to two sources on Friday. Four of them are top workers of Mali, one of the people claimed.

As one of the biggest producers of gold in Mali and the second-largest gold miner in the world, Barrick has faced increasing pressure in the West African nation since a junta took control of the country in 2020, much like other foreign miners.

Four Barrick employees have been taken into custody on suspicion of financial offenses, according to a local government official who spoke on the phone without identifying himself.

Barrick chose not to respond. It was not possible to contact the Malian authorities right away for a response.

According to a second source in the Malian mining industry, the four individuals detained on Wednesday were top Malian workers at Barrick.

One of the largest producers of gold in Africa is Mali, and the junta has worked to direct more gold earnings into state coffers, notably by enacting a new mining rule that permits the government to acquire a larger stake in gold concessions.

The authorities’ decision to sever long-standing connections with Western allies like France and pursue tighter diplomatic, security, and commercial ties with Russia is part of a larger policy shift that includes this sector’s upheaval.

Mali struck agreements with Russia last year to develop a gold refinery in the nation’s capital, Bamako, and with Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear energy firm, to conduct mineral exploration and nuclear energy production.