Mali’s military government has threatened to take back Barrick Gold Corp.’s Loulo mine concession when the current permit expires in 2026, amid an escalating dispute over how to divide the economic benefits from operations in the country.
Mali is considering letting the permit for Loulo lapse when it expires in February 2026, Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou said in an Oct. 18 letter sent to Barrick’s chief executive officer Mark Bristow, and seen by Bloomberg. Mali “reserves the right not to renew the operating permit” and invited Barrick to talks on the mine’s “transition phase” starting later this month, Sanou wrote.
The move comes as the junta has taken an increasingly hard line against the world’s second biggest gold miner, including briefly jailing four of its local executives last month over alleged “financial crimes.” Mali this week accused Barrick of failing to honor a September agreement aimed at resolving their disputes, which the Canadian company has denied.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/2024/10/25/mali-threatens-to-let-barrick-mine-permit-lapse-over-dispute/