In Mali, four employees of Barrick Gold, a Canadian mining company, were arrested. These would be senior Malian executives from the company which, along with the State, owns the immense Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex, in the west of the country. Arrests this Friday, September 27 that the company does not wish to comment on.
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Barrick Gold is refusing to confirm the information at this time.
The matter is particularly sensitive. It was a Malian judicial source who, on condition of anonymity, disclosed the arrest of these four employees of the Canadian mining company.
These are senior executives of Malian nationality, arrested for alleged financial crimes. This comes at a particularly tense moment between foreign mining companies and the Malian government.
Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow spoke this summer. Walking on eggshells, he acknowledged disagreements with the junta.
Admitting that the political context had pushed exploration companies to reduce or even suspend their operations in the country, which he said would have repercussions on gold production.
Mali adopted a new mining code last year allowing the state to take up to 30% stake in new projects. On the Loulo-Gounkoto gold deposits, Barrick Gold holds 80% of the two operating companies compared to 20% for the State.
Industrial gold production has more than doubled in 10 years in Mali. The country is also planning the construction of a gold refinery in Bamako in partnership with Russia.
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