Barrick Gold Reaches Settlement with mali, Ending Dispute Over Loulo-Gounkoto Mine
BAMAKO, Mali – Barrick Gold and the Malian government have reached a settlement agreement resolving a months-long dispute over the operation of the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine, the companies announced Monday. The agreement paves the way for the release of four Barrick employees detained in Mali as November 2024, and Barrick will withdraw its arbitration complaint filed with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank organization.
The Malian Ministry of Mines confirmed the agreement, describing it as a “crisis exit agreement” that brings an end to a period of conflict between the mining company and the government.
The dispute escalated in January when Malian authorities seized over three tons of gold from the Loulo-Gounkoto site, leading barrick to suspend operations and close its Bamako offices in April. In June, a Bamako commercial court placed the mine under provisional administration for six months, appointing former Minister of Health Zoumana Makadji as provisional administrator, effectively stripping Barrick of operational control. The junta had demanded the measure to restart extraction activities which had been halted since January.
Barrick stated that $85 million was paid to the Malian state in October 2024 as part of ongoing negotiations.
The settlement comes as Mali grapples with a security crisis, facing a blockade imposed by the jihadist group Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM, affiliated with Al-Qaeda) since September, disrupting fuel supplies and impacting the economy. The country has been battling violence from JNIM and the Islamic State (IS), alongside community criminal groups, as 2012.
The malian military government, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, has been increasing pressure on foreign mining groups, seeking a greater share of revenue from extractive industries. Gold contributes approximately a quarter of Mali’s national budget, and the junta has prioritized increasing national sovereignty over its natural resources and combating corruption.
