Mali plans to sell gold reserves at Barrick complex to fund operations

TORONTO/DAKAR/BAMAKO - The Malian court-appointed administrator of Barrick Mining's Loulo-Gounkoto complex plans to sell one metric ton of gold from the site's storeroom as operations commence again after an almost six-month suspension, two sources told Reuters.

Canadian miner Barrick Gold temporarily halted mining operations in January after the Malian government seized gold stocks from the Loulo-Gounkoto complex.

Former health minister Soumana Makadji, appointed as temporary administrator last month, enlisted the state mining company's chairman and former Loulo-Gounkoto executive Samba Toure to help with operations, two different sources said.

The site accounted for 15% of gold output from Barrick, the world's third-largest gold miner, before the suspension, which has affected national gold output and reflects a broader conflict between Mali and international miners.

Mark Bristow, Barrick's CEO, told Reuters the company had received only informal information about the restart and gold shipment.

"If it is true, any plans by the administrator to restart operations and sell gold on the site in our view would be illegitimate," Bristow said.

The plant started operating on Monday for the first time since January, three additional sources said.

Makadji and Mali's mines ministry did not immediately respond to queries by Reuters. Toure could not be reached.

Barrick suspended operations after Mali blocked exports, detained executives and seized bullion. It also launched international arbitration to resolve the dispute.

The move to restart the complex comes amid a two-year standoff between Barrick and Mali's military-led government over alleged tax disputes and the company's refusal to adopt a new mining code aimed at boosting state revenue from soaring gold prices.

Indeed, investors who have poured billions into West Africa are now compelled to adopt new rules as the military governments of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso seek a bigger share of mining revenue.

Gold prices have jumped 25% this year to date, and peaked at $3,500 per ounce in April, according to Reuters data.

SETTING A PRECEDENT?

Selling the ton of gold - which has sat in Loulo-Gounkoto's gold room since operations were suspended, and is separate from three tons seized in January - would be one of Makadji's first key actions after formally taking charge of the largest gold mining operation in Mali and the third-largest in Africa.

Restarting without Barrick's cooperation may set a precedent for state intervention in the West African mining industry.

Funds from the planned gold sale, worth about $107 million, are expected to be used to finance operational expenses, including salaries, fuel and unpaid dues to contractors.

Barrick's chief has vowed to challenge the government's moves in international courts.

"We will use every legal measure at our disposal to hold the state and the individuals involved accountable for these unlawful actions to protect our people and to defend our investments," Bristow said, adding that Mali had not acted in good faith.

Makadji has told Barrick staff, union representatives and subcontractors he is committed to resuming operations and maintaining salaries, three of the sources, who attended meetings with him, told Reuters.

CHALLENGES

Significant challenges lie ahead for the new management, six people said, noting that the scale of Loulo-Gounkoto added to the complexity of running it.

"Even if production starts, we would need at least four months to get back to normal pace - and four months was the scenario with Barrick Gold, but now it's the provisional administration, so it will probably be more," one of the people said.

Meanwhile, Barrick has cut its 2025 output forecast, and its chief wasn't sanguine on the mine's outlook under the provisional administration.

"We do not believe that the administrator and his advisors can run this mine," Bristow said. "We are concerned that such attempts will cause severe damage to the long-term prospects of the complex."

For the quarter ended December 2024, Loulo-Gounkoto's all-in sustaining cost, a metric miners use to calculate the cost of producing an ounce of gold, was $100 million.

Since losing control of the complex, Barrick has restricted intranet and email access in Mali.

Only Bamako-based staff were paid for June, while those on site remain unpaid, according to three sources.

Bristow said the administrator was responsible for June salaries and that Barrick had provided a detailed handover note.

It would also be challenging to recall key expatriate staff, two sources said. These include Australian jumbo drill operators absent since January, one of them said.

The company's expatriates left last year after Malian authorities detained Resolute Mining's CEO during talks on the new mining code and issued an arrest warrant for Bristow.

Some Malian staff have been temporarily reassigned abroad, others have resigned, and most contractors, unpaid since January, have suspended or laid off employees in Mali.