Barrick paid $430M to settle Mali dispute: Bloomberg

Barrick Mining (NYSE: B; TSX: ABX) paid nearly the same amount as the back taxes Mali’s junta claimed it owed, ending a long dispute that had shuttered a mine once responsible for about 15% of the company’s output.

The deal for the company to resume control over the Loulo-Gounkoto complex, secure the release of four detained employees and drop an arbitration case before a division of the World Bank cost Barrick $430 million, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. 

The dispute dates back to 2023 when Mali imposed a new mining code and demanded $440 million from Barrick in economic benefits and taxes, according to reports then by Reuters. The miner reported the deal on Monday without naming the amount. Its stock rose to an all-time high of $55.93 in Toronto, valuing Barrick at around C$94 billion. 

The agreement officially ends a protracted two-year fight over one of Africa’s largest mining assets. It comes just weeks after former CEO Mark Bristow’s surprise resignation due to what some industry veterans called a clash with the boardroom over strategy. The company’s share price has lagged peers in a year of record spot gold prices and Barrick had to write off $1 billion in revenue from the Malian operation. 

Company review

The agreement also comes as Barrick’s interim CEO Mark Hill undertakes a corporate review of assets. The company is to report in February on the process, which it said would target unplanned downtime and safety issues.

Loulo-Gounkoto was shut for about nine months from January — when the miner stopped operations after the state seized Barrick’s gold from the site — until October when authorities restarted blasting and mining. Last year, the site produced 723,000 oz. of gold, ranking it amongst the top 10 producers globally. Ownership of the mine complex is held 80% by Barrick, with Mali retaining 20%.

Most other major miners operating in the West African country have made deals with the junta to accommodate the new mining code, its taxes and elevated stakes for the government. B2Gold (NYSE-A: BTG; TSX: BTO) operates the Fekola mine in the southwest. Resolute Mining’s (ASX: RSG; LSE: RSG) then-CEO was detained by the government a year ago before it paid $160 million related to its Syama gold mine. Allied Gold (NYSE: AAUC; TSX: AAUC) also operates in the country. 

Barrick said it will withdraw its arbitration case against Mali, which it brought to the World Bank dispute tribunal last December after Mali’s government blocked gold shipments from Loulo-Gounkoto.