Judge will consider Mali’s request to reopen the Barrick mine with new management, according to an official

A proposal by the military government of Mali to reopen Canadian miner Barrick’s (ABX.TO) new massive Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine under temporary administration will be heard by a court on Thursday, according to a court official.

After operations at the complex were halted in January due to a disagreement over taxes and ownership, granting the request would mark a significant escalation of the conflict between the West African nation and the Canadian miner.

The Tribunal de Commerce of Bamako’s deputy president, Souleymane Maïga, informed Reuters that the case preparation and filing process will begin on Thursday.

A judge was set to rule on the Mali government’s request to transfer management of Barrick’s mines to a different province, according to three sources who spoke to Reuters earlier on Wednesday.

According to Barrick’s May 7 earnings report, the government threatened to impose provisional management on April 17 unless the mines restarted production by April 20.

Since 2023, there has been conflict between Barrick Mining, formerly known as Barrick Gold, and the Mali government over the adoption of a new mining code that increases taxes and grants the government of Mali a larger stake in the gold mines.

According to Barrick, it can only start up again if the Malian government lifts its ban on exporting gold.
After the government seized about 3 metric tons of gold, valued at about $317 million at last week’s pricing, and accused the firm of not paying its taxes, operations at the mines were suspended. Since early November, the government had been preventing Barrick from exporting gold.

According to two of the people, Mali’s government, as a shareholder holding a 20% part in the facility, asked the Tribunal de Commerce de Bamako Court to reopen the mining complex under provisional administration.

According to the sources, a new management group would be established to reopen and operate the mines if the judge approved.

Requests for response from Barrick and the Mines Ministry of Mali were not immediately answered.

In an effort to settle the conflict, the two parties are currently negotiating a memorandum of agreement.

This month, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow told Reuters that the two parties had nearly reached a deal three times.

According to a February Reuters article, Barrick had reached a settlement to resolve the conflict, agreeing to pay the government 275 billion CFA ($438 million) in exchange for the release of four managers who were jailed and the gold that had been taken.

The Malian government was asked to approve the deal.

One of the people, who is aware of the government’s stance, stated that the reason the government refused to approve the agreement was because Barrick had signed the “wrong” form.

According to a different source, the administration has also requested more money.

According to the source with knowledge of the government’s stance, any further funds the government requests would be equivalent to taxes the business hasn’t paid since it ceased operations.

In December 2024, Barrick filed a complaint against Mali in international arbitration over the disagreement. Provisional administration might be an attempt by Mali to seize Barrick’s assets, according to a lawyer with knowledge of the case.