Mali closes Barrick Gold’s Bamako office over alleged tax dispute — report
Authorities in Mali have shuttered Barrick Gold’s (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX) office in the capital, Bamako, over what they claim is unpaid tax, Reuters reported, citing sources with knowledge of the situation.
Barrick has not yet issued a statement but has previously rejected accusations of wrongdoing.
The dispute stems from Mali’s updated mining code, introduced in 2023, which boosts the government’s ownership in mining ventures. Tensions between the two sides have persisted since the new rules came into effect.
Shares in Barrick Gold were up 0.5% on Tuesday in New York to $20.50 apiece. The company’s market capitalization is $35.3 billion.
One source told Reuters that Barrick employees in Bamako are currently locked out of the office. However, the closure does not impact the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto mine in western Mali, where operations have been on hold since mid-January.
Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said in February the company will resume mining once the government allows it to restart gold exports. He added that officials have confirmed gold worth about $245 million, previously seized by the state, still belongs to the company.
The Loulo-Gounkoto site is currently excluded from Barrick’s production guidance and is not expected to contribute to output until 2027.
In February, Reuters reported that Barrick had reached a settlement with the government, which remains subject to official sign-off.
The Loulo-Gounkoto shutdown followed the state’s January seizure of roughly three tonnes of gold, citing separate tax-related claims. That issue is distinct from the matter behind this week’s office closure, a source clarified.
Roughly 40 Malian employees from Loulo-Gounkoto are being temporarily relocated to Barrick’s Kibali mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Reuters.
Ghana orders foreigners to exit gold market by April 30
Ghana has ordered foreigners to exit its gold trading market by the end of the month, a new government body said on Monday, as the West African country looks to streamline gold purchases from small-scale miners, increase earnings and reduce smuggling.
Africa’s leading gold producer is shifting away from a system in which local and foreign companies with export licenses can buy and export gold from artisanal or small-scale mining.
Under the new system, the newly created gold board known as GoldBod is the only entity allowed to buy, sell, assay and export artisanal gold, Monday’s statement said, and older licenses have ceased to be valid.
Foreigners must leave the local gold trading market by April 30 although they can apply “to buy or take-off gold directly from the GoldBod,” the statement said.
Finance minister Cassiel Ato Forson said in January that the creation of GoldBod would allow Ghana to benefit more from gold sales while maintaining the national currency’s stability.
Ghana’s gold exports grew by 53.2% in 2024 to $11.64 billion, of which nearly $5 billion was from legal small-scale miners.
Gold prices vaulted on Friday over the $3,200-per ounce mark for the first time.
The trade war between the United States and China has rattled global markets and driven investors into gold, which is traditionally viewed as a hedge against geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
(By Christian Akorlie and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Tomasz Janowski)
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