Barrick office in Mali reopens amid tax standoff

Malian tax officials have unlocked Barrick Mining’s (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) Bamako headquarters, nearly two months after sealing the doors over an alleged multimillion-dollar tax shortfall, Reuters reported on Monday.

The office will now be run by a court-appointed administrator while the Canadian miner and Mali’s junta government continue wrangling over the country’s 2023 mining code.

Former health minister Soumana Makadji was named provisional administrator of the complex last week.

The company plans to appeal both his appointment and the wider court order that put the flagship Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under state control, Barrick says.

Officials with Barrick didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Northern Miner on Monday seeking further comment. 

Barrick’s New York-listed shares rose 2% to $21.39 in early Monday trading, valuing the company at about $37 billion.

Mine still idle

Loulo-Gounkoto, once delivering more than half a million ounces of gold a year, has been offline since mid-January, after officials blocked exports and seized three tonnes of bullion.

Barrick argues Mali’s revised code, which raises taxes and boosts state equity, violates its existing agreements and is pursuing international arbitration. The revised code is part of a West African trend among several junta-led countries also including Niger, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Barrick filed for arbitration at the World Bank-run centre for settling disputes. 

The dispute deepened after authorities began holding four Barrick employees and issued an arrest warrant for CEO Mark Bristow on money-laundering and terrorism-financing charges, claims Barrick rejects.

Negotiations on a compromise have stalled for 18 months, leaving hundreds of local contractors in limbo and Mali without a key source of hard-currency royalties.