The head of Barrick Gold Corp. says he’s confident that a resolution will be reached between his company and the Malian government, currently embroiled in a dispute over revenue distribution from one of the largest gold mines in Africa.
In an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Wednesday, Barrick’s CEO Mark Bristow said despite recent reports that talks between the company and Malian authorities had broken down, both sides continue to communicate with the aim of reaching an agreement.
“The point about talks (being) suspended is news to me. We are continually engaging with the authorities to find a solution,” he said.
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Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that negotiations between the two parties had been suspended, citing people familiar with the Mali government’s position.
The dispute over Toronto-based Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex, the largest gold mine in the country, stems from a request from Mali’s government for a one-time settlement payment related to adherence to new mining rules that came into effect in 2023, according to Bloomberg News.
Last month, Mali seized approximately three tons of gold from the mine, and Bristow confirmed that four Barrick employees, reportedly taken into custody in November, are still being detained by Malian authorities. Mali’s government issued an arrest warrant for Bristow in December.
“Unfortunately, we have four senior executives – Malian citizens – detained, which is unfair and that really does stress me out, but at the same time we are engaged, and we are fully committed to finding a solution,” he said.
“It’s worth noting that when I started at Barrick in 2019, we had similar challenges in Tanzania and Pakistan and Papua New Guinea, and today all those are resolved.”
‘Long standing’ partnership
Bristow has decades of experience in Africa’s gold industry, navigating the fallout from civil wars and regime changes as the head of Randgold Resources Ltd., the company he took public in 1997 and eventually merged with Barrick in 2019.
He said that despite the current tensions, Barrick has been a “long standing” partner with Mali.
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“We’ve been a significant contributor to the treasury, and so if you look at the past couple of years, in 2023 we paid $400 million to the treasury, in 2024 we paid $460 million to the treasury, and this year, we would have paid a whole lot more because the gold price is up,” he said.
“If we can sit down and have a proper conversation and deal with the accusations that have been levied and put it on the table… I’ve got no doubt we’ll find a solution.”
With files from Bloomberg News
