Mali accused Barrick Gold of not upholding promises made in a recent agreement but the Canadian miner refuted the accusations on Thursday, stating it did not accept any misconduct allegations.
Days after Malian authorities briefly detained four of the company’s Malian employees, Barrick, the second-largest gold miner in the world, stated on September 30 that it had reached an agreement with the government to settle disagreements over the Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines.
However, Mali’s mining and economy ministries declared in a joint statement on October 23 that Barrick had “not honoured the commitments to which it subscribed in the agreement.”
The ministries stated that the violations included those on foreign currency regulations, corporate social responsibility, and the environment, but they did not provide any additional information.
They stated that there were “serious risks to the group’s continued operations in Mali, one of whose operating licenses expires at the beginning of 2026.”
“The Malian government has decided to draw all legal consequences arising from the actions taken by Barrick Gold,” they said.
Barrick responded by refuting the accusations and said that it has been actively working with the government since September 30 in order to come to a settlement that would improve the state’s portion of the economic advantages from the Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
“While Barrick does not accept any claims of wrongdoing, it has chosen to act in good faith as a long-standing partner of Mali,” it said in a statement, adding that the company had paid the government $85 million in early October in the context of ongoing negotiations.
According to three people who spoke to Reuters earlier this month, Mali’s military government is pursuing Barrick for at least $300 billion CFA francs ($512 million) in unpaid taxes and dividends.
A Barrick representative who was asked to respond at the time stated that the business was still negotiating.
