Mali to review and renegotiate mining contracts

Reuters | March 30, 2023 |

Syama gold mine. (Image courtesy of Resolute Mining.)

Transitional authorities in Mali will review mining contracts after an official audit of the sector advised that the state was not receiving a fair share of gold-mining revenue, the council of ministers said on Wednesday.


Mali is one of Africa’s largest producers of gold, which is its top export. Companies operating in the country include Barrick Gold Corp and Resolute Mining.

The council said an action plan would be implemented and would include creation of a commission to renegotiate mining deals, a move to repatriate cash earned from gold exports and the adoption of a mining sector environmental code.

“The action plan will be implemented via a participatory approach, including the mining companies themselves,” it said in a statement without providing a schedule for the measures.

Soon after coming to power in a 2020 coup, the military junta vowed to review mining contracts signed with companies by previous administrations.

Gold exports from Mali rose 8.4% in 2022 to 69.3 tonnes, reflecting a rise in industrial gold production over the same period, data from the statistics agency showed earlier in March.

(By Tiemoko Diallo and Alessandra Prentice; Editing by David Goodman)