The government of Mali and Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) have resolved their ongoing claims and disagreements about the Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines in that West African nation, the company announced on Monday.

Two days after four Barrick employees were detained by the Malian government, the second-largest miner in the world made a statement. A new mining agreement that would allow Mali’s military-led government more control over its resources has been negotiated by the two sides. Among Africa’s top producers of gold is Mali.

According to Barrick, once the terms of the settlement have been finalised, the agreement’s specifics will be made public.

“The current negotiations have proved challenging but we’re encouraged by the government’s recognition of the importance of securing the long-term viability of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex as a substantial contributor to the Malian economy,” Barrick’s CEO, Mark Bristow, said in a statement.

It was not immediately possible to reach the Mali government for comment.

Barrick announced in July that it has made over $10 billion in economic investments in Mali during the previous 29 years.

Equatorial Guinea requested on Monday that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismiss Gabon’s claim to multiple islands situated in potentially oil-rich seas within the Gulf of Guinea.

The tiny island of Mbanié, which is located less than a kilometre (about 1,000 yards) off the coast of Gabon, is the centre of a dispute between the two major oil-producing countries of Africa. They have requested that the UN’s highest court resolve the case.

“Gabon’s position is factually and legally untenable,” said Equatorial Guinea’s representative at the court, Domingo Mba Esono.

Since Gabon’s army ousted Equatorial Guinean soldiers from Mbanié in 1972, there has been violence. Since then, Gabon has established its own military outpost on the 74-acre, nearly deserted island (30 hectares).

However, the conflict was forgotten until the early 2000s, when renewed interest in the Gulf of Guinea was sparked by the possibility of oil.

Following years of UN mediation, the nations inked a deal in 2016 that would eventually allow the International Court of Justice, or World Court, to resolve the conflict.

The convention that divided up French and Spanish colonial holdings in West Africa in 1900 serves as the foundation for Equatorial Guinea’s claim to the islands.

In the meantime, Gabon asserts that the 1974 accord ought to serve as the foundation for the ICJ’s ruling. Gabon’s 1974 agreement evidence document, according to Equatorial Guinea, is not an original and is not signed.

Hearings will last a week. Gabon presents its case on Wednesday. Next year is anticipated to see the court’s definitive and binding decision.