A court in Mali on Monday placed Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex under provisional administration for six months, escalating tensions between the Canadian mining giant and the country’s military-led government.
The ruling effectively hands control of Barrick’s most significant African operation to state-appointed administrators, marking a sharp deterioration in the long-running dispute over alleged unpaid taxes and legacy mining contracts.
The decision follows a series of punitive actions by Malian authorities, including the closure of Barrick’s offices in the capital, Bamako, and the suspension of gold exports. The government had also issued an arrest warrant for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow in December 2024, intensifying the standoff.
Barrick, which disputes the government’s claims, says it offered to pay $370 million in an effort to resolve the conflict and has since taken the matter to international arbitration through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Despite this, several company employees remain in detention.
The company condemned the court’s latest decision and confirmed plans to appeal. It warned that such actions could severely damage Mali’s reputation among global investors.
The Loulo-Gounkoto complex is one of Mali’s largest gold-producing sites and a key contributor to the national economy. However, since a military coup in 2020, Mali has tightened its grip on foreign operators in a bid to boost state revenues, amid economic difficulties and ongoing security challenges linked to Islamist insurgencies.
Mali remains one of Africa’s top gold producers, but the mounting pressure on foreign firms is raising concerns about the future of its mining sector.
