Operations have resumed at Barrick Mining Corp.’s massive Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali for the first time in more than nine months.
- Operations at Barrick Mining Corp.’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali resumed after a nine-month halt due to a state takeover.
- The mine’s closure followed blocked gold exports, shipment seizures, and detainment of senior employees in Mali.
- Disputes over back taxes and mining legislation led to state management by Mali until an agreement was reached recently.
- Production restarted upon agreed payments to contractors amid concerns over mining conventions and protective regulations.
Operations have resumed at Barrick Mining Corp.’s massive Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex in Mali for the first time in more than nine months, following a state takeover of the site earlier this year.
Barrick halted production in January after the West African nation blocked gold exports, seized shipments, and detained senior employees.
The dispute escalated in June when a Malian court appointed Soumana Makadji, a former health minister and accountant, to manage the mine for at least six months.
Production activity quietly restarted late last week after an agreement was reached to resume payments to contractors that had been suspended during the shutdown, two people with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg.
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Mali’s Mines Minister Amadou Keita had said in June that the interim management team would “restart operations, produce, pay workers’ wages, but also produce gold for the national economy.”
Loulo-Gounkoto is one of Mali’s most productive gold mines and a key source of export earnings. Before the shutdown, it represented around 15% of Barrick’s total global output.
Tax rift deepens
In 2024 alone, the mine yielded 723,000 ounces of gold, but its sudden seizure has barred the Canadian miner from fully capitalising on this year’s record 60% surge in gold prices.
Mali and Barrick’s standoff stems from a long-running dispute over back taxes and new mining legislation, dating back to 2023. Other international miners, including Allied Gold Ltd. and B2Gold Corp., have since reached settlements with the Malian government.
Barrick maintains that it does not owe any unpaid taxes and that its local subsidiaries are protected under binding conventions shielding them from certain legal and regulatory changes.
