Mali recovers $1.2bn from miners, sets bar with new mining code
Mali's Finance Minister Alousséni Sanou
The Mali finance minister said that the audit that made way for the new mining code has helped recover 761 billion CFA francs ($1.2 billion) from mining companies, making it Mali’s largest sum recovered from the mining industry, Reuters reported on December 2.
The audit was presented at a ceremony by Mali’s finance minister, Alousséni Sanou, in the presence of the President Assimi Goita.
Gold and lithium mines are among Mali’s most valuable exports, with gold being its top export. The Mali Mining Code, which was introduced in 2023, gives Mali’s military-led government a larger share of the profits of the mines and removes tax exemptions from mining companies.
The process to recover this amount was set up after two audit firms, Inventus and Mozar, found major financial problems and missing payments owed to the state, estimated at between 300 and 600 billion.
Following the enactment of the new mining code, companies like Barrick Gold had disagreements with the Malian government and suffered great losses in their revenue. On November 24, the Canadian company agreed to sign the new mining code and continue its operations in Mali.
Whereas other mining firms, including Canadian counterpart B2Gold, and lithium player Kodal Minerals, have signed the new mining code and continued their operations without disruptions.
The finance minister, in his presentation, said, “I am delighted with these results, among which we can mention the recovery of 761 billion CFA out of a target of 400 billion.”
He also emphasised that all mining firms will be bound by the 2023 mining code, which is expected to increase the annual revenue by 586 billion CFA francs from audited firms alone. The total projected revenue from mining firms would then be an estimated 1,022 billion CFA francs each year, he added.
Mining companies in African countries have had their share of exploitation, accidents, and under-reporting of funds, which leads to such measures as the mining code being the need of the hour, with greater state control.
Reuters, Maghrebi.org
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