BARRICK Gold has signed a new agreement with Mali that could bring a two year dispute between them to an end provided it is formally approved by the West African country’s government.
Citing four people familiar with the situation, Reuters said Barrick will pay a total of 275 billion CFA or $438m to the Mali government, in return for the release of detained employees, seized gold, and restarting the operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto mine.
A delegation of more than 15 representatives of Malian ministries as well as the private consulting firm Iventus Mining completed a three-day inspection of Barrick’s mining complex on Wednesday, according to Reuters sources.
Mali late last week gave Barrick a one-week deadline to restart operations, four of the sources said.
A new agreement with Mali would give a bump to Barrick’s operations at a time when the gold prices have been hitting an all-time high but investors have not seen a similar return reflected on the company’s share performance, said Reuters.
Speaking earlier this month, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said his company paid $460m to the Mali government last year and would have contributed about $550m to the nation’s treasury this year if operations had not been suspended.
Barrick lowered its gold output forecast this year to between 3.2 million ounces and 3.5 million ounces due to the temporary halt at the Mali mine. Barrick’s gold output was 3.9 million ounces last year and 4.1 million ounces in 2023.
