Canadian firm Barrick settles gold mining dispute with Mali

Canadian mining giant Barrick has reached a deal to settle a long-standing dispute with Mali’s government over the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex. 

In a press release on Monday, Barrick said it will drop its arbitration case against Mali at the World Bank dispute tribunal. 

In return, Malian authorities have agreed to abandon all charges against the company and its affiliates, release four employees from jail, and give operational control back to Barrick over the Loulo-Gounkoto site. 

The Canadian firm is one of the world’s largest gold producers. It entered a dispute with the Malian government after the introduction of a new mining code in 2023. 

The code aimed at increasing the state’s gains from mining and strengthening sovereignty over its natural resources. 

Barrick initially refused to adopt it, prompting the Malian government to take action.  

The crisis escalated in the past two years. In June, a Malian court placed the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex under provisional administration, a measure now to be lifted. 

Bloomberg reported that Barrick is due to pay 144 billion CFA francs within six days of signing the agreement with Mali’s government, according to people familiar with the matter.

Another 50 billion CFA francs will come via VAT-credit offsets, while an installment of the same size was already paid last year, bringing the settlement to a total of 244 billion CFA francs ($430 million) Bloomberg said.

Barrick and the Malian governement have not released the financial details of the agreement.