Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) will appeal a Malian court decision appointing Soumana Makadji, a former health minister, as the provisional administrator of its Loulo-Gounkoto operation for six months.
“We take note of the decision, the appointment of an administrator whom we know well. It is a court decision. We will appeal,” West Africa director Mamadou Samaké told Reuters.
Since January, Loulo-Gounkoto, one of Africa’s largest gold complexes, has sat idle amid a standoff triggered by Mali’s 2023 mining code, which raised tax rates and expanded state equity participation.
In November 2024, Malian authorities blocked Barrick’s gold exports and seized about three tonnes of gold, alleging unpaid taxes.
The dispute deepened when an arrest warrant was issued for CEO Mark Bristow on money-laundering and terrorism-financing charges, claims Barrick rejects.
Longer path to restart
In…
