The courts in Mali have handed temporary control of one of the world’s largest gold mining sites to a government-appointed administrator, sidelining Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold for at least six months.
This comes as disputes continue over taxes and management rights.
The ruling by a Bamako commercial court allows Zoumana Makadji appointed by Mali’s military-led government to run the operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex.
This marks the first time Mali has placed a mining company under such external administration.
Nigerian Mining learnt that Makadji’s role includes ensuring mining activities resume quickly, with the court set to review progress on negotiations with Barrick after six months.
The decision intensifies already strained relations between Mali’s ruling junta and Barrick, which holds an 80 percent stake in the complex, with the remaining share belonging to the Malian state. The military tightened its grip on the mining sector, accusing Barrick of failing to meet its financial obligations, including taxes, royalties and dividends. It also claims the company’s existing contract unfairly excludes the government from meaningful control over mine operations and revenues.
However, Barrick insists it is the legal owner of the mine. In a statement following the ruling, the Toronto-based company confirmed that “operational control has been transferred to an external administrator,” but said it has initiated international arbitration through the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to protect its interests.
“The arbitration tribunal has been established, and Barrick has requested provisional measures to prevent further escalation and safeguard its contractual rights with the Malian government,” the company said.
The conflict escalated sharply. In November, after Malian authorities arrested four local employees of Barrick. Then arrest warrants were issued for the company’s South African chief executive and the complex’s Malian general manager on money laundering charges. Then in January, authorities seized around three tonnes of gold from the mine, forcing them to suspend processing operations.
The government further ramped up pressure in May, asking the Bamako court to place Loulo-Gounkoto under temporary administration, and later ordered Barrick’s Bamako offices closed over alleged tax arrears amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Despite these moves, Barrick argues that it has tried to resolve the dispute, noting that it paid $85 million to the Malian government last October as part of ongoing settlement talks.
Mali, one of the world’s poorest nations, has been governed by a military junta since two coups in 2020 and 2021. The Loulo-Gounkoto complex, located near the border with Senegal, has been a key contributor to Mali’s economy for two decades, producing its first underground gold in 2011. In 2023 alone, the mine generated an estimated $1 billion for the national economy, according to Mining Technology.