By Divya Rajagopal and Portia Crowe
TORONTO (Reuters) -Mali’s government and Barrick Gold will start a new round of negotiations on Tuesday to resolve a deepening dispute over the alleged nonpayment of taxes by the Canadian miner and the seizure of its gold stocks by authorities in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold miner by production, has temporarily suspended its mining operations in Mali after the government seized close to 3 metric tons of gold, worth $250 million from the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
The issues at stake in the new round of negotiations are Mali’s demanding $199 million, Barrick’s agreeing to the new mining code and the release of the seized gold, according to people aware of the development who did not wish to be quoted as they are not authorized to speak about the issue.
Shares of Barrick closed at C$23, down by 0.2% at the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday.
Barrick declined to comment and the Mali government did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
Governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — all led by juntas — are all seeking to renegotiate new terms with gold miners to gain a bigger share of mining revenue at a time when gold prices have hit record highs.
The dispute between Mali and Barrick is over the country’s new mining code that came into effect in 2023. The mining code gives the state a bigger share of mining revenues and removes tax exemptions for mining companies.
Mali had previously demanded about $500 million in unpaid taxes from Barrick, sources told Reuters. Mali has also issued an arrest warrant against Mark Bristow, CEO of Barrick Gold.
Barrick denies any wrongdoing.
Jefferies analysts have estimated that suspending production at the mine could cut Barrick’s earnings before interest, taxes and amortization by 11% in 2025.
(Reporting by Divya Rajagopal in Toronto and Portia Crowe in Senegal; Editing by Sandra Maler)
