A Malian court has denied bail for four employees of Barrick Mining Corp., who have been held in custody since November 2024 on accusations of money laundering, terrorism financing, tax evasion, and other regulatory breaches.
Barrick has firmly rejected all allegations. The ruling comes amid rising tensions following the military junta’s six-month seizure and state management of Barrick’s Loulo–Gounkoto gold mining complex.
Alifa Habib Kone, a lawyer representing Barrick, said the judge dismissed the company’s appeal, which challenged the charges as baseless, as “unfounded.”
The ongoing standoff is part of a broader dispute triggered by Mali’s 2023 mining code, which raised mining royalties and expanded the government’s equity share in projects.
Barrick opposes these new rules, arguing that they contradict pre-existing, legally binding agreements.
Barrick’s Loulo–Gounkoto operations have been suspended since January 2025, when Malian authorities halted gold exports and seized about three metric tonnes of the company’s gold bullion.
In mid-July, state helicopters removed an additional one metric tonne of gold, reportedly worth US$117 million, likely to support the mine’s continued operation under state control.
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Mali’s aggressive stance reflects a wider trend among military-led governments in West Africa, including Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who are pushing to renegotiate mining terms, tighten control over exports, and assert greater authority over their natural resources.
The four Barrick employees remain jailed in Bamako following their arrest in November.
In December 2024, Malian authorities escalated the situation by issuing an arrest warrant for Barrick CEO Mark Bristow, accusing him of money laundering and financial misconduct. The warrant states that Bristow allegedly violated financial regulations.
As gold prices surge, Mali, along with fellow junta-led nations Burkina Faso and Niger, is attempting to renegotiate profit-sharing terms with foreign gold miners to increase national revenues.
Barrick’s operations in Mali generated $949 million in revenue during the first nine months of 2024, representing 14% of the company’s total gold production, according to Reuters.
In a related development, Australia’s Resolute Mining confirmed in November 2024 that its CEO, Terence Holohan, and two other employees were released after being detained earlier that month in Bamako.
They had been held for discussions with mining and tax officials regarding the company’s operations.
Resolute later agreed to pay $160 million to settle the tax dispute with the Malian government.
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Image Credit: Business Insider Africa
