Gold miner Barrick Gold threatens to freeze Mali operations
Canadian group Barrick Gold said on January 6th it would freeze operations in Mali if restrictions on gold shipments were not lifted within the coming week, as mining companies in West Africa face an increasingly hostile operating environment, according to Reuters.
The military juntas ruling Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are trying to renegotiate terms and gain a bigger share of mining revenues after a series of coups that have seen them move away from their traditional allies France and the United States and towards Russia.
Barrick Gold, whose Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in Mali accounts for about 14% of its estimated gold output this year, has been in a dispute since 2023 with the Mali’s government over a contract based on new mining rules.
Reuters
