(Reuters) -Canadian miner Barrick Mining has reached an agreement with Mali’s government to resolve all their disputes over the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex since 2023.
The dispute was over the implementation of a new Mali mining code that raises taxes and gives the government a greater share of gold mines.
The miner, formerly called Barrick Gold, said it will drop its arbitration case against Mali at the World Bank dispute tribunal. In return, Mali will drop all charges against Barrick and its affiliates, release the employees and give back operational control to the Canadian miner.
Following is the timeline of the events:
July 14, 2023: Mali’s military-led government proposes changes to its mining law that would increase state and local interest in projects by 35%.
September 27, 2024: Mali’s military-led authorities arrest four employees of the miner for alleged financial crimes.
October 8, 2024: Mali government seeks about 300 billion CFA ($512 million) from Barrick as unpaid dues.
December 5, 2024: Mali issues an arrest warrant for Barrick’s former CEO Mark Bristow, accusing him of money laundering and violating financial regulations.
December 16, 2024: Barrick threatens to suspend its operations in Mali.
December 18, 2024: Barrick launches arbitration against Mali at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
January 13, 2025: Mali’s military-led government seizes 3 metric ton of gold from Barrick’s mine
January 14, 2025: Barrick suspends operations in Mali
February 19, 2025: Barrick signs a new agreement with the Mali government to end an almost two-year-old dispute over its mining assets in the West African country. Deal falls through.
15 April 2025: Malian authorities shut Barrick’s Bamako office over alleged unpaid taxes, and the government threatens to place the suspended Loulo-Gounkoto mine under provisional administration unless it reopens and tax payments are made.
May 7, 2025: Barrick CEO Mark Bristow says it is spending $15 million a month to keep its Mali mine running and does not know where Mali’s government is keeping the gold seized from the Canadian company.
11 June, 2025: Barrick removes Mali gold complex from its 2025 output forecast.
16 June, 2025: Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali placed under state control by a court
23 June, 2025: Malian tax officials reopen Barrick’s Bamako office under a court-appointed administrator
8 July, 2025: The administrator of Loulo-Gounkoto complex plans to sell one metric ton of gold from the storeroom as operations resume after nearly six months of suspension.
22 July, 2025: A court in Mali rejects Barrick’s appeal to release four employees arrested last November, calling the request unfounded. Barrick says the allegations against the employees as baseless.
September 29, 2025: Barrick appoints veteran executive Mark Hill as interim president and CEO following the sudden resignation of Mark Bristow.
Bristow’s handling of Barrick’s flagship asset in Mali proved to be the last straw for the board to initiate a change in leadership, four people familiar with the development tell Reuters.
October 10, 2025: Operations at Barrick’s Loulo underground gold mine in Mali are scheduled to begin on October 15, four months after a court-appointed provisional administration took control of the site, two sources tell Reuters.
October 31, 2025: World Bank arbitration body rejects a request by Barrick to expedite its international arbitration case against Mali.
November 21, 2025: Barrick Mining and Mali’s government reach a verbal agreement to resolve their dispute over the mining complex, two sources familiar with the situation tell Reuters.
November 24, 2025: Barrick Mining reaches agreement with Mali’s government to resolve all their disputes over the mining complex.
(Reporting by Pranav Mathur, Varun Sahay and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
